


Celestial Fate

by Just2Protect



Series: The Pack Series [1]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alexis - Freeform, Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, Laxus' Sister, Multi, Rose - Freeform, Summoner - Freeform, The Pack Series, celestial magic, draco - Freeform, dreamer - Freeform, lexi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2018-11-03 10:03:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 226,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10964994
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just2Protect/pseuds/Just2Protect
Summary: Upon Laxus' awakening on Tenrou, he finds himself face to face with the newer Fairy Tail Celestial Wizard, Sonya Vern. The Counsel assigns Sonya to help the Thunder Legion adjust to the changes since they've vanished. But the arrival of one group sends the slowly rebuilding Guild into inevitable chaos.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Justie: I told myself not to do this until I was done with Ava's first book. But I wrote it, and it's done. Please leave a review if you liked, or constructive criticism if you didn't.

The first thing Laxus Dreyar was aware of was that he felt unusually heavy and his legs felt like someone or something was pulling on them. Loud, nearby barking of canines was ringing in his sensitive ears. He growled in annoyance, which only resulted in a hot puff of disgustingly potent dog breath in his face before the snarling and barking began anew.

Slowly, he managed to open his eyes, only to find he was hanging upside down from a tree with a small pack of canines in front of him, snarling and barking.

Three were Siberian Huskies and one was a wolf. The furthest one from the upside-down Wizard was the smaller of the dogs with a silver-colored back and markings on the face that almost resembled freckles. The second dog had mostly tawny-gold fur but had boots of white on its paws. The final dog had red fur and looked to be the largest of the dogs.

The leader was a black wolf with haunting golden eyes. Everything about the beast was massive. It was at least twice as large as the larger of the dogs.

These animals looked almost feral. But there were small gaps of on their necks where the fur was disturbed, signifying some form of ownership. For a moment, the question of who in their right mind would try owning and taming a wolf of all things passed Laxus' mind before said wolf barked at him again.

Laxus knew little about wolves but he'd seen a couple packs wandering Tenrou before. Those wolves and this pack weren't just different in members but in feeling as well. In comparison to the half to full dozen wolves in each Tenrou pack, there were only four to this pack.

From the Tenrou wolves, he'd never felt like he was in any danger. If a wolf came near him, he'd always been absolutely certain that the beast wouldn't touch him. These canines were different. They barked in his face, growled and snarled, and for once, Laxus wasn't sure if he would get out of this without being bitten.

The Tenrou wolves were almost always hungry, looking skinny and with matted, filthy looking fur that had definitely seen better days. Tenrou wolves had yellowing, rotting teeth, blood covering their snouts from a recent kill if there'd been one. These dogs were in peak condition, muscles rippling under healthy, shining fur. Their teeth were white and snouts clean.

Tenrou wolves were beasts with instinct alone. They circled their prey and ripped it apart. The only power they had were in their species-given abilities. These canines were vastly different. Laxus couldn't see the eyes of a beast when he stared into the haunting gold eyes of the Alpha. He saw the raw intelligence, strength, and power in those eyes. Laxus could already feel a kind of power from the dogs and just by looking into their eyes, he could tell one thing; they were holding back.

These were more than dogs. They were smart, they were powerful, they had intention and reason, they had instinct and restraint. They were far more dangerous than any beast Laxus would ever find himself up against.

Suddenly, the wolf reared up on its back legs and the massive paws slammed against Laxus' chest, sending him swinging back and forth until his feet came free of the branches he was hanging from and he landed with a harsh grunt on his front.

The dogs started howling as he moved to sit up, only to have the wolf jump up and pin him down by placing its massive paws on his chest and snarling in his face. A long howl echoed through the trees and instantly the three smaller canines took off after it, leaving Laxus alone with the colossal wolf on top of him. Another howl rang and the wolf barked in response.

Laxus' Dragon Slayer hearing picked up the crunching of leaves under paws and boots, hissing of branches that are being pushed aside and swinging back into place and twigs snapping under a set of boots.

"Summer!" The wolf leapt back and Laxus found himself staring down the point of an arrow, knocked into a bow made of golden wood. The shaft of the arrow was silver in color and the feathers that tickled the cheek of the archer now standing over him were silver and gold speckled.

The archer was a young woman, probably only around 20 or so. She had long caramel-colored hair pulled up in a ponytail with wild blue eyes. She was dressed in a pink sweater, dark jeans and black combat boots. A brown belt was wrapped around her waist, holding up a brown pouch on one hip. Around her neck was a silver chain with a blank silver key hanging off the end.

The girl took a few seconds to look him over before giving the dogs sitting off to the side a look and relaxing her bowstring.

"Sorry about that. Thing is...we were told a certain number of people were on the island and you weren't on the list," she said as the bow and arrow vanished into a shower of golden dust and she extended her hand to help him up. "Name's Sonya Vern by the way. You?"

"Laxus Dreyar," Laxus said as he accepted the offered hand and stood up. Once he was on his feet again the girl kept holding his hand for a moment, giving him an odd look.

"Laxus Dreyar...as in the Lightning Dragon Slayer?" she asked. For a moment, Laxus was silent. Most people tended to associate him with his grandfather right off the bat.

"Yes..." Sonya's odd look turned to a smile.

"Nice to meet you then. You probably wouldn't know me. I'm a Celestial Wizard with Fairy Tail."

"Hold on a second. Last time I checked, the last person to be a Celestial Wizard in Fairy Tail was-"

"Lucy Heartfilia. Yes. I'm aware...Ugh this is gonna be tough to explain." Laxus crossed his arms over his massive chest and made a gesture to show he was waiting for the girl's explanation. "Um...The last year you remember is X784. Right now it's X791. Tenrou Island disappeared seven years ago. Everyone in the Guild believed that everyone who came here for the trials was dead. We attempted to contact you but we couldn't find you so you were listed as missing."

Laxus' eyes went wide and he covered his lower face with his hand as his jaw dropped slightly.

"Um...wow," he managed.

"Yea. Imagine our surprise when we came out here and found the island after so many years of nothing," Sonya added with a nod as she reached behind her back to hold onto her opposite elbow.

"Yea. I can imagine." The two remained silent for a moment as Sonya's dogs came up and licked at their hands, the wolf standing next to Sonya like a sentry, practically glaring at Laxus.

"Um...wanna head towards where the others are? We're headed back to Magnolia soon."

"I can get back on my own. Thanks for the offer though," Laxus said as he started walking away.

"Uh...no." Sonya's wolf leapt in front of Laxus and started snarling again. "I know you can teleport. But Magnolia has changed a little. For all you know, this place you're thinking of teleporting to could very well be some poor person's home. I've spent the last seven years trying to keep Fairy Tail's diminishing reputation away from the typical destruction so I won't be having you ruin that!" Sonya scolded.

"Don't worry about that sweetheart, I'm not a member anymore," Laxus snapped, turning towards her.

"Not according to the Magic Counsel."

"What?" Sonya shrugged. "You are aware I was the one who started the whole Fantasia Battle of Fairy Tail nonsense right?"

"I have been told. And Macao brought that up with the Counsel when they wanted to make you the Guild Master but the Counsel said that you never forced anyone to participate and aside from that, they believe you would've made a more responsible Guild Master than Makarov."

"I didn't force anyone? Then what the hell do they call turning people to stone statues and threatening to turn them into dust within a certain time limit?"

"The Magic Counsel checked. Evergreen doesn't have that power. Master Makarov should've known that and thus, the situation was escalated far beyond what it needed to be. At least that's how they describe it."

"Are you kidding me?" Sonya shrugged.

"I know I organized the letter into the proper file so when we get back to the Guild Hall, I'll show you and Makarov if you want," she offered.

"You put a letter in a file? In the Fairy Tail Guild Hall?"

"Yes," Sonya said. "Granted it did take a while to get everything sorted, cleaned, organized and to maintain it is a pain in my behind. But yes, the letters from the Magic Counsel now go in the files of the members they are talking about. Trust me, over my dead body the Guild office is going back to the organizational skills of previous times!" Laxus winced as the girl's high pitch struck a rather painful chord in his eardrums.

"No need to be yelling at me," he objected. Sonya's face went pink.

"Sorry. But I spent the last seven years doing this whenever I could, atop seven billion other things, considering barely anyone else in this Guild would get off their butts. So please forgive me if I get a tad passionate," Sonya said quietly before turning and letting out a small whistle for her dogs to follow her. The wolf bumped its head on Laxus' leg, urging him to follow. "We should head to the shore before too many people get back there. Otherwise, she'll make a mess."

"She?"

Sonya tapped the pouch on her belt three times and the Huskies disappeared into golden dust, leaving only the wolf behind.

"Yea. She. As in the ship. As in how we're getting back to Magnolia. Come on, you can help me once she's in the water."

"By doing what? Because you're crazy if you think I'm gonna step one foot on a ship." Laxus said, remaining where he stood. The wolf headbutted his leg again with a growl.

"You get motion sick too?!" For a second, Laxus' stomach threatened to lurch just at the thought of being on anything like a vehicle. A ship rocking back and forth over the water, having to depend on the wind in the sails for speed, the perfect recipe for blowing chunks. "Huh. Maybe it's more common than I thought."

"I used to get it too. But I changed my diet some and you wouldn't believe the results. But in your case, just keep in mind that it's a living thing trying to help you and you should be fine."

"Summer, come!" Sonya ordered firmly. The wolf left Laxus and trotted up to its master. "Good girl." Sonya bent down once the canine sat and started petting her ears and neck. "I know you're just trying to help you sweet thing. But you can't bully your way about it, okay?" Summer licked Sonya's face and the girl hugged the massive wolf tenderly before standing up and turning to Laxus. "Sorry about her."

"It's fine. So...Summer?" Sonya nodded as the two started on their way through the trees.

"Yea. She's the Lupus constellation. And since it's most visible in June, a summer month, I decided to name her Summer." Summer barked and trotted ahead of the two.

"So what made you come to Fairy Tail?" Laxus asked.

"I don't know. It just seemed to call to me somehow. But I'm glad I joined when I did. After you guys all vanished, our reputation started going downhill faster than a sled on ice. Of the people in the Guild when you were around…there's probably twelve people you'll know. Kinana and Romeo hung around a little before Tenrou went missing…But then Asuka and I would likely be the only new recruits as of late."

"Asuka?" Laxus asked as the dirt began to turn to sand.

"Yea. She's Alzack and Bisca's daughter. You know, the sharp-shooter duo?"

"Yea I know about them…Hold on, those two hooked up?!" Laxus cried as he stopped walking. Sonya took a few more steps towards the surf, looking back over her shoulder at him.

"This is gonna take a lot of explaining, isn't it?"

"Probably," he admitted

"Then I'll make sure everything's explained on the ship," Sonya assured as she pulled out three Silver keys from her pouch. She pointed them towards the water and yelled loudly, "Open, Gates of the Ship! Carina! Puppis! Vela!" Almost immediately, a massive ship with three white sails marked with the Fairy Tail symbol in blue, red and gold.

"Wow."

"Thanks. I haven't really had the opportunity to try her out too much before today so I'm glad she looks good. Let's get aboard and get her ready to set sail." As she spoke, a gangplank lowered itself down to the sand before the two. Summer trotted up the wood quickly and Sonya decided to balance herself precariously on the edge and walk up with her arms stretched out. Laxus stepped on the gangplank to keep it from wobbling.

"Seriously?!" he snapped. Sonya looked over her shoulder.

"What?"

"This thing's not secured. Walking along like that is one heck of a way to break your neck." Sonya looked down at her boots then back to Laxus before turning around and setting her hands on her hips.

"That's why Summer is here. If it looks like I'm about to fall, she's always there to grab me before I get hurt. I'm thankful for you looking out for me, but I don't do stuff without judging the dangers that go with it. Never have, never will. So thanks for your concern but I'm fine." With that, Sonya turned on her heel and continued on her way up the plank before hopping off on the ship. Summer put her front paws on the gangplank and let out a snarl at the blonde Dragon Slayer before following her mistress.

After a moment Laxus carefully made his way up the gangplank. Oddly enough for him, his usual motion sickness didn't even make an appearance, even as the ship rocked with the waves.

Sonya was happily flitting about the deck as ropes swung to and fro and Summer bounded around her mistress, begging to be played with or petted. The Celestial Wizard hopped up to stand on the railing and held onto a low-hanging rope to help her balance.

"How're you feeling?" she asked as Laxus came over.

"Just fine, thanks." Sonya nodded and looked down at Summer. "So. You said she's the Lupus constellation?" Laxus asked as he stretched his hand out for Summer to sniff.

"Yep." Summer sniffed at Laxus' hand and looked at Sonya, who nodded. The black wolf nudged her head under Laxus' hand and let him pet her.

"What other keys do you have?" Sonya pulled a ring of silver keys from the pouch on her hip and spread them out over her lap.

"Well. I have the Little Lion, Lynx, Hunting Dogs, Great Dog, the Keel, Stern and Sails of the Argo Navis, the Eagle, Phoenix, Charioteer and Arrow. It's not a whole lot, but they're the ones I've got and I couldn't ask for a better team."

"You haven't met the Thunder Legion, little girl," Laxus teased. Sonya shot him a mock-glare.

"For your information, I'm 19, which makes me an adult."

"So?" Sonya smirked, her lips curling and a light igniting in her eyes, all seeming to dare the Devil himself.

"So the next time you want to call me 'little girl', remember that you don't know shit about me, while I've had seven years to learn all your little tricks." Summer barked at him and nuzzled Sonya who petted her in approval. Laxus raised an eyebrow at the young woman in partial surprise, partial amusement at her words.

"Is that a threat?" he asked. Sonya's eyes went wide and she placed a hand on her chest and her other one went up to cover her mouth to feign shock.

"I'm offended sir! I am a lady and a Celestial Wizard at that. I don't make threats, I make promises and keep them."

"Well, you're basically promising to harm me. I call that a threat." Sonya's smirk turned into a full on "Devil may care up I don't" grin.

"I never said I'd hurt you. I simply stated the fact that you know shit about me. So keep all that in consideration." Laxus couldn't help a chuckle that shook his shoulders.

"Alright I'm impressed," he admitted. Sonya's eyebrow went up. "You're one of the first people of Fairy Tail aside from my team who can actually hold up an intelligent conversation." Sonya chuckled.

"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment."

"Good, that's how I intended it." Sonya's smirk softened to a thoughtful smile. "What?"

"You're not nearly as arrogant and vile as everyone painted you."

"I had issues," he said with a shrug.

"Even that doesn't sound quite right to me," Sonya retorted. "At least not by what I've seen so far. Most definitely not the same as they guy I've heard about for seven years."

"And are you disappointed? That I'm not the same Laxus as those stories?"

"Nope. I only listened to those stories to pass the time, not to form any conclusions on what people are like. My personal policy is to not judge people until I know them." At this point, Laxus let out a sigh of slight disappointment.

"And how many times has that bitten you in the butt?" he asked, half expecting a half-embarrassed response. Sonya leaned in slightly with a blank look.

"Never once. Again, I'm not an idiot. If I get a bad feeling about people, I stay away from them. If not, I'll stick around. That's part of the reason I'm still talking to you after all. My gut is telling me it's a good idea and it's never steered me wrong." Laxus shrugged again.

"If you say so." Sonya let out a little sigh and looked out at the island.

"The others should be here soon," she muttered. "So. What were you up to during your time of 'banishment'?" Laxus shrugged again.

"I traveled around some. But nothing was really all that interesting." Sonya nodded.

"I had similar thoughts when I was on my way to Fairy Tail. Honestly, I find that surprising considering you're an S-Class wizard and older than me by, technically eleven years, but your ideas matched those of a twelve-year-old." The two fell into a light silence and Sonya started pulling at her shirt, trying to cool down from the humidity. "Geez it's hot around here," she muttered as she pulled her ponytail away from her neck. Laxus caught sight of a small, dark line that peeked out from under her collar.

"You've got a tattoo?" he asked. Sonya stopped tugging on her shirt and traced the line with her finger. Then she pulled the collar of her sweater down to reveal the reptile. The scales seemed to stand out individually as a mix of black, blue, purple, and silver. The beast's head was pointed upward with the mouth wide open, making it look like it was about to eat her head. The dragon's body was curled in a circle. The claws were pulled in towards the belly and the long wings were folding up into the back.

"It's Draco the dragon constellation," she explained before fixing her sweater. "How about you? Got any ink?" Laxus smirked and pulled up his shirt to reveal the black markings on his chest and stomach. "Nice. They look almost tribal."

"I guess," Laxus said as he pulled his shirt back into place, the words causing Sonya to tilt her head in confusion.

"You guess? Oh." She crossed her legs, pressed her elbow into her leg and pressed her mouth to her fist. "That's where your emblem was before...wasn't it?" Laxus nodded. "I see. Sorry I brought it up." Then the young woman's face burst in a bright grin. "But hey, the Counsel still says you're a member. So once we get back we can figure out the logistics of everything."

"Gramps isn't gonna like that too much," Laxus muttered.

"So what? It's partially his fault anyway." Laxus gave Sonya a questioning look. "Well, based on stories told to me, my conclusion is you got sick and tired of Erza, a fellow S-Class Wizard, and Natsu, a fellow Dragon Slayer, getting away with doing so much destruction during their jobs with barely any repercussions. It would be like if I had a younger sibling who kept disobeying the rules and my parents knew about it but hardly punished them, but if I step out of line once and I'm severely punished, it's basically not going to end well for anyone. You reached a breaking point. But that's just my theory on the matter. If you think there's something more to it, you might want to talk with a professional, of which, I am not," Sonya said as she stood up again and balanced her way to a set life nets. Quickly, she secured her feet in the ropes and climbed up into the crow's nest to look out over the beach again. She watched for a moment before flipping herself over the railing. Summer barked loudly before Sonya landed on one of the beams holding up the main sail, running across and launching herself off. In midair, she pulled one of her sweater's sleeves over her hand and let herself get caught on a rope, using the fabric to protect her hands from harm as she slid back down to the railing of the main deck.

"Having fun?" Laxus asked, half teasing. Summer bounded towards her mistress and licked at her face, earning a giggle from the caramel-haired Wizard.

"Tons. But fun's gonna need to stop soon. The others are on their way with everyone else." Sonya hopped off the railing and made her way up towards the ship's controls. Or at least where they were supposed to be. Instead of the wheel and a bench full of navigational equipment that Laxus had seen on the few times he'd ever been on a ship, there was absolutely nothing on the deck Sonya walked up to aside from more railing. She placed her hands on the railing and actually started talking to the ship. Laxus looked down at Summer, who was content to sit on the deck, tail wagging.

"Is this normal for you guys? Or is this just for me to see?" he asked. Summer barked at him once before trotting over to her mistress. "I guess this is normal."


	2. Chapter 2

Sonya hopped up onto the railing and held onto a rope hanging near her head to keep her balanced as Lucy and Levy made their way onto the ship. Laxus leaned back against the deck railing and caught sight of his team out of the corner of his eye.

"Ahoy there!" Sonya called with a bright smile, catching Laxus' attention again. Lucy smiled and waved as Bisca came up to the two.

"That's Sonya. This ship is a fusion of a few Celestial Spirits she owns." Lucy's smile brightened and she went over to where the girl was standing.

"Hey there, I'm-"

"Lucy Heartfilia. I know. I'm Sonya Vern, Fairy Tail's newer Celestial Mage. I've heard a lot about you over the years. One point that got me particularly interested is that you're the owner of Leo the Lion Zodiac, right?" Sonya asked as she hopped back down onto the deck.

"Yea, that's right," Lucy said as she pulled out the lion's key. Sonya smiled as she reached into her pouch and pulled out a similar key.

"I've got the Little Lion, Leona. She's Leo's mate. So, if you look at it in a certain light, that makes us in-laws. I hope we get along well."

"I hope so too." The two girls started up an energetic conversation about the different keys they had and how they got them as the Thunder Legion came up to Laxus, pulling his attention away from the two Celestial Wizards.

"Hey bud, you feelin' alright?" Bickslow asked. Laxus gave a small nod and a shrug.

"Sonya summoned some Celestial Spirits to create the ship. For whatever reason, I've felt fine since I boarded."

"Perhaps it has something to do with them being Celestial Spirits. After all, Natsu doesn't get sick while flying with Happy," Freed said thoughtfully.

"Maybe. But Wendy doesn't get motion sickness. And Gajeel was fine on our way over," Evergreen added.

"So maybe it just affects certain Slayers," Laxus said.

"What you guys talking about over here?" Sonya asked, seemingly appearing from nowhere, causing the trio of newcomers to jump around to face her.

"Ah! Miss…Uh…" Freed paused, realizing he didn't really know her name. Sonya simply smiled and extended her hand.

"Sonya Vern. You can just call me Sonya. The only people who call me Miss Sonya or Miss Vern are in the Magic Counsel. So I insist on being called Sonya. And sorry if I spooked you guys. I just wanted to inform you we'll be heading out to sea now. Normally the trip would take a week but with this beauty, we'll be at the Guild by tomorrow morning." One by one, she shook the hands of the Thunder Legion.

"I'm Freed Justine. My comerades are Evergreen and Bickslow."

"Nice to meet ya Sonya," Bickslow said, tongue flopping out of his mouth. Sonya looked at him wide-eyed for a moment before giggling a little.

"Sorry. But every time I try something like that, I end up making total nonsense so I can't help but laugh when I see you do that but still speak coherently."

"If ya want, I can teach ya when we get back to the Guild." The caramel-haired woman beamed.

"That sounds awesome!" Bickslow let out a loud laugh.

"I like this kid," he said slinging an arm around her shoulders.

"I'm an adult, ya jerk!" she chided, shoving her pointy elbow into his ribs, causing the man to jump back and rub the tender spot. "Mind if I stick with you guys for right now? The ride can be pretty boring without people to talk to."

"Sure. Welcome," Evergreen said.

"Thanks," Sonya chirped as she perched herself on the railing next to Laxus.

"Weren't you speaking with Miss Lucy until just now?" Freed asked.

"Yea, but she and I said our pieces and it got awkward quick. But I like talking with Laxus. So I have the feeling I may like talking with you guys."

"Sounds good to me," Bickslow said, leaning up against the railing.

"I agree," Freed added as Evergreen nodded her approval.

"So what's gonna happen on this ship between now and tomorrow?" the Seith Wizard prodded.

"Well, we could do some fishing off the side of the railing, toss some toys for the dogs, but we do have some meals ready. I'm personally looking forward to the cinnamon rolls for breakfast tomorrow and chicken soup for dinner tonight. We have more options but that's what I'm eating."

"What exactly is on this ship?" Evergreen asked.

"Aside from private quarters for everyone, a fully stocked galley made buffet-style, a planning room that I personally stocked with a few decks of playing cards, navigation room complete with up-to-date and historical charts from every era of seafaring you could wish for, and a kennel for our furry friends," she said as Summer trotted up and started licking at Laxus' hand.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but you sound rather proud of this ship as if you'd built it yourself," Freed commented.

"The ship is made up of three Celestial Spirits. Alone, they'll appear as people who can help you in the water. But put them all together, we get our lovely ship here. The three will adapt to the needs of their Master. Meaning if I suddenly need an up-to-date medical bay, I will have one. If I need room for whaling, I will have it. So in a way of looking at things, yea. I did build her myself. But then again, she built herself."

"Do most of your Spirits do something like that?" Evergreen asked. Sonya pulled out her key ring.

"The Little Lion, Leona, doesn't. Lynx doesn't. Hunting Dogs, Lupus and Great Dog can turn into puppies if I need them to. Eagle stays a gigantic bird. Phoenix is my healer but she doesn't transform. Charioteer turns into a car that fits my needs depending on how many people I have with me. Arrow turns into a bow and arrow. Laxus actually saw that one earlier," she chuckled, a light blush rising on her cheeks. Laxus couldn't help letting out a chuckle of his own.

"What does she mean?" Freed asked.

"Um… I had an arrow pointed at him before we even spoke to each other." Each member of the Thunder Legion's jaws dropped and they looked from Sonya to Laxus.

"Uh. Can we get a little more from that please?" Bickslow asked.

"Um. Well. When we got on the island, my dogs and wolf picked up a scent. I let them go find whatever it was and we found the others scattered around the island. Since the dogs weren't with anyone, I went to go find them. I called for them and they responded with a howl, and then I called again and got the same answer. That usually means I need to come see what's going on. Then the dogs showed up and Summer wasn't with them. I followed them back to where she was and saw she was standing on someone. So I summoned the Arrow and took Summer's place on top of Laxus. Then we started talking after I sent the Arrow back."

"So that was you howling in the woods?" Laxus asked. Sonya nodded before smiling sheepishly and scratching at the back of her neck.

"Sorry about the arrow in the face. I just really care about my Spirits."

"You're fine. Actually, it kinda reminds me of Bickslow a little," Laxus said, earning another tongue-flashing grin from Bickslow.

"Oh really?" Sonya asked, looking up at the five totems flying above Bickslow's head. "Do they have names?"

"Yep. Pappa, Peppe, Pippi, Poppo and Puppu," the tall male said, pointing to each of the totems in turn. The totems themselves did a little spin where they were when their name was called, earning another giggle from Sonya.

"They're cute," she commented.

"What the hell?!" The yell from the tiny Guild Master made everyone jump, including Sonya. The caramel-haired girl let out a squeak as she slipped backwards and grabbed tightly to the railing to keep from falling into the water.

"Ugh. What the hell indeed," she muttered under her breath as Makarov continued yelling about the thick-headed fools in the Counsel and how they couldn't figure their way out of a paper bag if their lives depended on it.

"What's up with the Master?" Bickslow asked.

"He's probably found out that his banishment of his grandson hasn't held up from the perspective of the Counsel. In fact, according to official Counsel say, Laxus is the fourth Guild Master of Fairy Tail right now and the Guild is under his jurisdiction," Sonya explained as she righted herself on the railing.

"Seriously?" Evergreen asked.

"Yea. Since doubtless the geezer is gonna be over any moment now to say something," Sonya sighed, glancing towards the elder Dreyar who was still yelling, despite several people warning him about blood pressure.

"Probably. But he's got nothing to worry about," Laxus assured.

"Let me guess, gonna turn them down flat?" Sonya chipped in.

"Yep. Although Gramps is pretty lax when it comes to enforcing punishments, he's still a better option for the Guild than me." Sonya let out a low whistle.

"Takes a big man to say something like that in my book," she said before hopping down. "You guys wanna head down to the planning room? We can keep talking over a game of Poker or something."

"Sounds good to me," Evergreen said.

"I'm in," Bickslow called. "Let's play! Let's play!" his babies cried.

"Laxus and I will join you three in a moment," Freed said. Sonya shrugged and headed towards a door that would lead under the deck.

"First door on the left when you guys are ready!" she called over her shoulder.

"Thanks!" Laxus called after her before turning to his oldest friend and teammate. "What's up?"

"You return after all this time and expect me to not at least ask how you are?"

"I'm fine Freed. Really."

"Is that so? Because before, you would've practically leapt at the opportunity to be Guild Master," the Rune mage commented.

"Yea. People change."

"True. But not as drastically as what I just observed." Laxus crossed his arms over his chest.

"Look. I'll be upfront. Just so you know, no one did anything to me, but me. I don't know what it was but after I cast Fairy Law, I don't really remember what happened. It's just a blur until I got knocked out. When I came to, I couldn't even remember why I'd been so pissed off, not properly at least. I know I was sick and tired of the Guild being treated like a joke but that's it. I can't remember any other reason. During my banishment, I kept thinking over everything I could that would've driven me to that and I can't remember what drove me to do what I did." Freed nodded.

"I also should apologize in that case. I'm one of the people closest to you and I should have been most aware of what you were doing being harmful not only to others but yourself." Laxus shook his head.

"We're not talking about this anymore Freed. What's done is done and that's all there is to it. But one more thing. If Gramps banishes me again when we get back, I'm not fighting it. And I don't want you, Evergreen or Bicks to either, got it?" Freed sighed solemnly.

"If that is your wish Laxus. However, why would Master banish you again? You saved us during the fight with Grimwore Heart. And it's apparent you have changed."

"The old man is stuck in his ways. Aside from that, I wasn't supposed to be there to begin with," Laxus said with a shrug. "Besides, what was it he always said about the Counsel? 'To heck with them' right?" Freed chuckled and nodded.

"Yes. Yes that is what he still says," the green-haired man said through his chuckles. Laxus placed his hand on Freed's shoulder then jerked his head to gesture they follow Sonya and their teammates.

 

The planning room was filled with a long table with multiple chairs lining it, three of which were occupied by Bickslow, Evergreen and Sonya, each with a hand of cards. A bowl of peanuts and pretzels sat in the center of the table and each player had a glass of a drink before them. Against the far wall was a fully-stocked bar. Sonya sat at the head of the table, her feet up on the corner of the table as she arranged her cards. She was the first to notice the two come into the room.

"Hey guys. We figured you weren't gonna take too long. So we dealt you guys in. Grab a drink if you want and take a seat," she invited. Freed took a seat as Laxus went to the bar and grabbed himself a beer.

"You got a good selection," he commented as he took the last seat and grabbed his cards.

"Yea…That's new. Seriously, I was in here before we landed at Tenrou and that was not there," Sonya said with a shrug.

"Alright. How many cards can get tossed?" Laxus asked as he picked up his five-card hand.

"Three," Sonya said. "And winner chooses next game, doesn't need to involve chips in the rules."

"Got it," Laxus said as he popped open his beer and looked over his teammates. He'd long since learned the little ticks his team had in a Poker game. Bickslow used to have a bad habit of drumming his fingers on the table when he had a good hand. Over the years, he'd learned how to control his hands but his totems would still do something; a jump, a spin, something and usually in the order of A-E-I-O-U. Evergreen still hadn't kicked her habit of moving her fan in time with her rapid heartbeat when she had a bad hand. Freed had been tougher. The rapier-wielding Rune mage having always been harder to read than half the books he'd bury his nose in. But it was the tiniest things that people didn't take notice to. When Freed had a bad hand, he'd usually place the first knuckle of his index finger against his bottom lip. When he had a good hand, it would be on his chin and moving between first and second knuckle. But the majority of Laxus' attention was on the girl who'd joined their group for the moment. Like she herself had said he didn't know shit about her. But that only made the game even more fun. No offence to his team but after playing Poker with them as often as he had, it had almost gotten boring. Sonya was a welcome refresher to the game.

Laxus checked his hand. He had an Ace, a King, a 10, a 5, and a 6. The group went around the table, tossing in the plastic chips to represent their bets, and Bickslow burned the top card of the deck before Sonya placed a 4 on the table, receiving a new card in exchange. Laxus watched her carefully. Her fingertips twitched and her jaw shifted some. Evergreen discarded a five as did Freed, their tells popping up almost immediately. Laxus weighed his options before discarding the five and six from his hand. The new cards were another Ace and King. Two pair; not a bad hand but not the best. Bickslow kept all his cards and turned to Sonya, who raised the bet by a few chips. The corner of her lip twitched. Laxus didn't know if it was good or bad, so he played it safe and bet the minimum when his turn came around and finally Bickslow threw in his chips and the group showed their cards. Evergreen had a pair of sixes, Freed had nothing, Bickslow had a pair of sevens but Sonya had a Royal Straight Flush. The caramel-haired girl chuckled some as she organized her winnings.

"Why didn't you go higher if you had an unbeatable hand?" Laxus asked.

"Well, there's three other suits and while the odds aren't good there's still the chance of someone else getting a Royal Straight Flush. Aside from that, if you go all in, everyone either folds or thinks you're bluffing and tries to match your bid. That's my experience at least. And I don't wanna end the game so quickly. Even without all that, I find it in poor taste to go all in unless you're exhausted and just can't go anymore or you literally have so few chips you have no other choice. Since neither of those apply to me, I didn't go all in. Plus, it's more interesting this way, for me at least," she chuckled again before picking up the cards, shuffling and dealing.

"What game ya pickin'?" Bickslow asked.

"BS. But with some slight alterations." Sonya laid out one of each of the three colored chips they all had. "Red signifies on hundred jewel, blue signifies 500, and white signifies 1000. If you have to lay down any number between 2-5, you put down a red chip. If it's 6-10, a blue one. A face card and you lay down a white one. In regular BS, you keep laying down cards until one player calls BS on a second player. In this version, if the second player is lying, they get all the cards and the winner of the round gets the chips. But if the second player is telling the truth, then they get all the chips and the first player will get all the cards. Sound good?"

"I'm game," Laxus said as he took a sip of his beer, watching his teammates nod in approval. Sonya smirked as she picked up her cards and Laxus couldn't help his own smirk making it's way onto his face. This was definitely going to be interesting.

 

"So...anyway, suddenly, Asuka goes from Macao being her horsie to Wakaba and using his...what the fuck do you call it a pompanure? Something like that? Anyway. She grabs onto the thing and starts tugging on it like reins. The next thing I knew they yelled and when I turned around, Asuka was on the floor, holding just huge chunks of it in her hands. She wasn't hurt but she felt so bad about it that she started crying. Wakaba assured her it was okay and he'd been planning to cut it for a while but even he was crying and everyone was just laughing at how ridiculous it looked!" Sonya giggled out. Evergreen and Bickslow burst into their own giggles at the story.

"So he truly had to chop it all off?" Freed asked. Sonya nodded.

"I swear his wife all but tied him to a chair to cut it off because there was no way she was letting it live past Asuka's manhandling." Laxus couldn't help his own chuckle.

"That is hard to imagine...that man without that...thing on his head." The words sent Sonya into another fit of giggles.

"It was hilarious. He honestly looked like the worst version of mange, he was almost completely bald!" Laxus shook his head as another set of chuckles rumbled in his chest. He couldn't tell how it had gotten to this point, but the cards and chips were now laying on the table, entirely forgotten as Sonya told stories of the goings-on of the past seven years. His hearing picked up snoring a ways off so it was probably later into the evening but no one really wanted to leave the room.

Laxus had never taken much interest in Macao's young son, and he'd never met this Kinana, Askua or Daphne that Sonya talked about so affectionately, but from her stories, he felt he'd be able to at least tell them out of the small crowd still at Fairy Tail.

The thought dampened his mood some. Even without including himself, Fairy Tail's limited number of S-Class and more famous Wizards had been on Tenrou. If that wasn't enough, Sonya had already mentioned Fairy Tail's reputation wasn't good as of late. But she hadn't said to what extent. That was what made him nervous. Not that any of the others' good moods were muddled by Laxus' sudden change in thoughts.

"Honestly, after the shit that went down that morning it was a welcome change of pace." Sonya froze instantly, eyes widening. For all of a minute, she definitely looked like a child sitting at a table of adults, realizing she'd just done something she knew she shouldn't have done.

"Sonya?" Laxus said. She barely moved her head, but she looked him in the eye, seemingly asking him to not say anything or change the subject. But this was something that needed to be discussed. "What happened?" The young woman sighed heavily as she sagged back in her seat. She looked purely exhausted, like the fun and games they'd been having only a couple hours ago had been days, weeks, or even months.

"The Magic Counsel called in all of their outstanding debts. They said if we couldn't pay it, the Guild would not be allowed to operate freely. Basically, we'd be their new indentured servants. Since we had no S-Class Wizards, our two Guild Masters were either dead or missing according to public record, barely anyone could take on the jobs needed to really raise the money we needed, another Guild offered to help us out; Twilight Ogre. Help, my ass. Since they 'helped' us, we've lost the actual Guild Hall and now we're stationed in mine and Kinana's home, Twilight Ogre put a huge interest rate on our debt, and the number of jobs coming to the Guild become smaller and smaller every year. It's gotten so bad, I've actually overheard Macao and Wakaba talking about disbanding the Guild."

"What?!" Evergreen shrieked.

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"I never thought I'd hear of Wakaba and Macao speaking of such matters," Freed finished. Sonya looked at Laxus as his fist clenched and his knuckles turned white. The hulking blonde met her gaze. They could recognize a shared sadness at the idea. For the both of them, it would mean their previous years of devotion to the Guild would have been wasted. Hours, sweat, blood and tears poured into work all for nothing. It would mean the loss of a home and family that had been there for years. Laxus relaxed his fist.

"Calm down. We won't be disbanding." The Thunder Legion turned to their leader.

"Come on guys this is practically a given. You think Gramps is gonna let the Guild flop like that? Don't forget his own father was one of the founding members of Fairy Tail. This Guild's only been around for four generations and it's had its ups and downs before. This is just another one of those times. Once we get back to Magnolia, things will start changing for the better. And if they don't, there's a lot more to a Guild than a piece of paper and a building." Sonya's eyes widened and she raised her head. Feeling his teammates staring at him in the same shocked, awed way the Celestial Wizard was. "What?"

"You sure you don't want to be Guild Master? Because that was pretty damn inspirational," Sonya said.

"Shut up," the blonde snapped. "I'm just tellin' it like it is." Sonya rolled her eyes.

"Sure." The group let out a few chuckles.

"She's got a point Laxus. For a minute there you almost sounded like your grandpa," Bickslow managed, sending the others into more giggles.

"All he needs is the moustache and a little less hair," Sonya added before tilting her head to the side as if contemplating the idea. "Nah. Wouldn't wanna clash with the scar." Laxus shook his head and set down his empty beer bottle.

"Alright. Have we all gotten a good laugh at my expense?" he asked. "If you guys need me, I'll be on the deck." Sonya's laughter stopped instantly.

"You know we were just kidding around right?"

"I know. I just want some fresh air. Plus it's the first time since I was a kid I've been on a boat and haven't gotten sick to my gut. I wanna enjoy the view some."

"If you say so," Sonya said warily as she watched the man leave the room. Laxus took a breath on the other side of the door before heading towards the deck. He didn't have any issue with the laughing or jokes. After dealing with Bickslow's antics for years, he was used to it. But everyone had a limit to contact with other people before they needed some space. He hadn't necessarily reached his limit yet. But he never wanted to be short with his temper near his teammates again. The last time had been an absolute nightmare.

He grabbed onto the nearest thing he could as one particular memory flashed before his eyes. The one that actually made him bend over the railing and gag on bile that was trying to make it's way up. The one of his best friend staring at him in shock and horror after almost being electrocuted. Static had made some of his hair near where he'd almost been struck stand out.

A touch on his shoulder made him whirl around, acting on instinct, his hand tightened into a fist that he just barely stopped from smashing into Sonya's nose. She looked at his knuckles with wide eyes, the same look in her blue eyes the Freed had back then. But then again there was something different about these eyes, not only in color, or that of the hair around it. But rather, something different in the look they gave him. Yes they were scared, terrified even. And they were surprised. But there was definitely something in Sonya's eyes right that moment that Freed hadn't had in Laxus' memories of Fantasia. But he'd definately seen that look before. Not only in the eyes of his own team, but in the eyes of his Guild Mates when they had to fight him. Some spark of determination and adrenaline.

"Sorry. You looked like you were getting sick and I thought I could help." Laxus relaxed his arm, letting it drop to his side.

"You really shouldn't sneak up on someone like that," he sighed. "I honestly could've hurt you."

"Okay. Then I would've learned my lesson even better," she said with a shrug. "You okay? You sounded like you were going to throw up."

"I thought I was gonna," Laxus admitted.

"Motion sickness?" The blonde shook his head. "Oh...bad experiences?" He nodded slowly as Sonya sat herself on the railing next to him. "Well. I'm here if you want to talk. But if you don't wanna talk, then that's fine too. I mean, if you don't wanna talk, I can talk until we dock. Literally, anything at all you wanna talk about, just go on ahead. But if you feel like I should just shut up, please tell me to just shut up I mean, I know I can-" Out of desperation to stop the words that were coming faster and faster, Laxus clapped a hand over Sonya's mouth, making the girl giggle.

"Slow down. Breathe. Please," he said as Sonya started laughing harder.

"Sorry," she said, pulling her head away from his hand. "It's how I get Asuka to calm down when she's upset or Kinana during one of her fits." Laxus sighed and leaned back on the railing. "So. Um...Can I ask you something?"

"Sure. Go ahead."

"Do you have any idea why Tenrou Island would show up after seven years? I mean, seven is a pretty important number in some religions and it keeps popping up in Fairy Tail. Like I know that when Tenrou Island disappeared, Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy's dragons all vanished seven years before that, making it fourteen years now."

"No idea," Laxus admitted. "But the frequency of times it shows up is getting on my nerves."

"I know why!" At the sound of an unfamiliar voice, Sonya leapt off the railing and in an instant slipped into a ready position, holding her bow ready to fire. Laxus whirled around again, fist ready to fly if needed. The two froze in their places upon seeing a young woman standing before them with long platinum-blonde hair, big green eyes, and dressed in an intricate pink dress but she was barefoot. "Oh. I'm sorry. Did I frighten you children?" she asked.

"Children?" Sonya repeated, not relaxing her bow as Laxus dropped his arm.

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mavis Vermillion, the First Master of Fairy Tail." Both sets of eyes widened and Sonya's grip on her bowstring slipped, shooting the arrow right past Mavis' arm and into the railing on the opposite side of the ship. "Careful where you shoot those things."

"Sorry. But uh...According to the records...Master Mavis is...Uh...Well." Sonya dropped her bow and scratched at her cheek.

"Dead as a doornail," Laxus said, earning him an elbow to the ribs courtesy of Sonya.

"Show a little respect," she snapped.

"Don't worry children, it's fine. I'm well aware of what I am. But you had a very good question that I wanted to answer. And it can get so boring on Tenrou Island."

"Okay?" Laxus said.

"In response to your question, when the dragon called Acnologia attacked, I was able to turn the bonds of trust and friendship into pure magic power. In fact, these bonds were so strong that Fairy Sphere was activated. It is one of the three Grand Fairy Spells, an absolute defense spell. This particular spell is capable of protecting the Guild from all horrors. However, the reasoning for it lasting as long as it did, was probably due to the bonds between the people used to create it," Mavis explained.

"So...Could that be why the Guild has gone to absolute shit since Tenrou vanished? Because Fairy Sphere was protecting Tenrou and these guys instead of the Guild building?" Sonya asked.

"Nope. I'd say that's just bad luck," Mavis said with a giggle. Sonya's jaw dropped and Laxus couldn't help a snigger. "But I must say, Fourth Master, you should be proud of the Guild you've built."

"Don't call me Fourth Master. I'm not Fairy Tail's Guild Master. That's my grandfather and he's the third. Aside from that, he built Fairy Tail into what it is now, not me," Laxus corrected.

"If you say so, Laxus," Mavis said with another giggle before fading away before their very eyes.

"Well...She's a character," Sonya muttered.

"I think you could say that about almost every member of Fairy Tail," Laxus agreed. The two looked at each other again as the sun started peeking over the horizon, catching the silhouettes of the coastal city not too far off. "Look. I don't know if you'd want to or anything. But it's been seven years since my team and I were in the world. I'm gonna bet there's all kinda of new stuff for us to learn about. Since my team already likes you, think you could act as something like a tour guide or something?" Sonya nodded.

"Sure. It would be my pleasure," Sonya said as she extended her hand with a bright smile. "I look forward to working with you guys." Laxus felt the corner of his lip raise some as he took Sonya's hand in his and gave it a firm shake.

"We'll be counting on you."

"I can handle it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: More development! UGH! I'm working as a housekeeper for my parents this summer and I just finished the first floor. Sweeping, vaccuming, dusting, all of it has me utterly exhausted.   
> Please leave a comment, leave a bookmark or kudos to show support!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Tail returns to what is left of their Guild and Laxus discovers how far Sonya is willing to go for their Guild.

"Open, Gate of the Charioteer! Auriga!" Sonya yelled. In an instant, a massive car appeared in the road, the Fairy Tail insignia decorating the side. The tires were just about as tall as Sonya was, if not, more. The car's body looked much like a boat itself in terms of shape. Most of it was red, with orange accents. There were only four doors which made Laxus slightly hesitant to say it could hold everyone from Tenrou Island.

Sonya clamored up the side and opened the door to the driver's seat. She turned back to the large number of people who were looking at their numbers and then the car.

"Come on up! There's plenty of space!" she called.

"You sure we'll all fit?" Laxus asked as he helped Evergreen get into the backseat.

"Positive. The Charioteer always has just the number of seats I need," she assured. "Evergreen, Bickslow, Freed, make sure you sit right behind me okay? Laxus, how about you take shotgun?" Laxus nodded as he helped Lucy up into the car as well. Next was Levy, Lisanna, Mira, Erza, Cana and finally a tiny, blue-haired girl stood behind him, holding a white cat in her arms.

Laxus remembered seeing her during his fight with Hades. But what she'd been doing there he had no idea. She looked like a little kid, somewhere between ten and twelve years old he'd have to say. She had big brown eyes that kept looking around nervously.

"Want help?" he asked. The girl jumped slightly, looking around before nodding quickly.

"Yes please," she squeaked timidly, earning her a narrow-eyed glare from her little white cat. Laxus noted the cat's action but ignored it as he grabbed the girl by the waist and lifted her up so Evergreen and Lucy could help her inside.

"Here we go Wendy," Lucy said as she ushered the girl inside. Laxus took a step back to let Bickslow and Freed get up, ready to give them an extra boost if they needed it. Once his team was inside, Laxus hoisted himself up. Sonya offered her hand, which he took and used to pull himself up. He plopped down in the passenger seat and looked over his shoulder. Behind him were six rows of four seats. The first row was where Wendy and the Thunder Legion were sitting. One by one, the other people filed in, with Natsu instantly hanging out the window, looking rather green in the face. Once everyone was seated, Sonya pushed the Charioteer's key into the ignition and started the vehicle.

"Here we go," she said as they started moving. The streets weren't the bumpy cobblestones that Laxus remembered, but rather they were smooth, seemingly made of a single black stone. The buildings had changed a little. Some of them were made entirely from brown or red bricks and were taller than Laxus remembered. Even the people were different. Most people he'd seen the last time he was in Magnolia, he'd seen tons of women in dresses and skirts that touched the ground and if any men were accompanying them, they didn't wear suspenders like he'd seen time and time again. Rather almost everyone wore pants and a shirt, maybe a coat or jacket if the autumn cold called for it.

Once the major part of downtown was gone, the single stone turned back to cobblestone and eventually to a dirt path. As the condition of the roads deteriorated, as did the buildings until they were little more than patchwork shacks of wood and cinderblocks. That was when Makarov started voicing concerns about the condition of the Guild Hall. Bisca and Alzack started discussing the issue and Laxus wished, not for the first time in his life, that he didn't have Dragon Slayer hearing as he picked up every word exchanged.

Suddenly, Sonya stomped on the brakes, sending almost everyone flying forward until their seatbelts stopped the movement, slamming them back into their seats.

"Sorry!" Sonya called as she turned off the car, unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door. "Stay in the car. I have to handle something." Laxus looked out the windshield and saw five people standing in the doorway to a large building that looked more like an ancient chapel or barn than anything modern. The white stone walls were patched with wood and Fairy Tail was nailed over the doorframe but the L was almost falling off. Off to the side was a chicken coop and on the other side was a small garden sporting green shoots. A windmill stood near the end of the property but the blades were half broken or missing entirely. "Hey! Assholes!" Sonya barked as she shut the door and hopped down to the ground. The people standing in the doorway turned towards Sonya as she neared them. Laxus quickly unbuckled himself and got out of the car.

"Is there a problem here?" he asked. Sonya whirled around as the five strangers looked over at the blonde Dragon Slayer.

"I told you to stay in the car!" Sonya snapped. Laxus moved to stand next to the young woman as the strangers came closer.

"No problem. We're just collecting debt that we're owed," the leader said. Laxus raised an eyebrow as he looked over the rather diminutive male. He wore a pair of jeans held up by a tiger-striped belt. Next was a red shirt with armor on his shoulders lined in gold. He also wore a silver band around his head with two tiny horns right on the front. His black hair was tied back in two massive buns near his neck. Over his chest and down to his hip was a silver strap leading to a giant spiked club strapped to his back.

"And you'll get it," Laxus said. "But there are some of us who have been out of the picture for a little while. So the debt will be handled once we're more aware of the situation."

"Our Master won't like that," the man said with a glare. Laxus' eyes narrowed.

"I apologize for that. But it's the best the Guild can do at this time."

"The Guild? The debt got paid."

"Thibault," Sonya hissed, her eyes smoldering.

"What do you mean by that?" Laxus asked, casting an odd look towards the girl as she tensed.

"Little Miss Vern here decided that she was gonna take care of everything on her own. She took out a loan from us to cover the last of the Guild's debt and we're here to collect," Thibault said with a sneer. Sonya bared her teeth and Laxus looked back at her.

"You did what?" Sonya bit her bottom lip.

"Hey! This looks like a party!" Laxus snarled in annoyance as he grabbed Sonya's shoulder and yanked her out of Natsu's way as he hurled himself, fists flaming, into the group of intruders.

"Dammit," Laxus hissed as Erza and Gray jumped in as well.

"Do they always do that?" Sonya asked.

"They always find some reason to brawl," the blonde sighed before one of Thibault's group, one of the larger idiots, decided to throw themselves at him. In the ten seconds, maximum, it took him to throw the fool away, Sonya vanished in the kicked up dust, flying bodies and yells of brawlers.

Laxus had no doubt that Sonya could handle her own in a brawl. If she grew up in Fairy Tail, she'd likely been in a brawl or two. But this was a brawl involving some of the most destructive members of Fairy Tail. At most, Laxus guessed she was about 160 cm and maybe 50 Kg. Natsu and his team didn't care about their opponent's size or about who got hurt unless their own teammate was the victim and half the time, Erza wouldn't even notice until after the brawl calmed down.

A loud, sickening CRUNCH brought his attention to another one of Thibault's lackeys collapsing to the ground, holding his leg as he screamed in agony. Sonya stood over him, holding a large, rectangular hammer in hand. The edges of the hammer were flattened so there weren't any corners. Sonya cast him a glance.

"Look out!" she yelled, charging forward. Laxus whirled around in time to see another of the idiots charging at him. His fist became encased in lightning and he landed a backhand across the attempted assailant. A small force bumped into his back, causing him to turn back around to see Sonya standing next to him. She shot him a smirk. "Figured you'd be the best option to stick near." Laxus couldn't help a smirk growing on his own face as Sonya swung her hammer and deflected one of Natsu's ricochet fireballs.

"Probably a good idea."

"I told you, I don't do stuff without thinking of the dangers that go with it. Right now, sorry but you're the biggest and look the toughest to me so I'm sticking with you. On top of that, I trust you more." The words made Laxus pause for a moment before backhanding away one of Gray's attacks. "So, you got a plan here?"

"Part of one," Laxus admitted with a half-shrug.

"Part is better than none, what ya got?"

"Freed, Ever and Bicks are likely to jump in if I do."

"What if Freed wrote some runes to hold Erza, Gray and Natsu back and send Thibault and his buddies home?" Sonya suggested as she swung her hammer again, deflecting one of Erza's swords. "Seriously, do they even care where their attacks go?"

"Nope, they don't. Hold on a minute I'm gonna go get Freed." Sonya nodded and batted away another fireball.

"You go get him, I'll keep you covered," she said simply before deflecting another ice attack. Laxus turned around to see Freed and Bickslow helping Evergreen and Lucy out of the car.

"Freed!" The green-haired mage turned and upon seeing what was happening, nodded and drew his rapier. A few quick movements and the glowing purple runes appeared and shot towards their targets. Laxus ducked and pulled Sonya down with him. She let out a little yelp of surprise but bent backwards to evade the runes flying over her, just managing to catch herself on her hands. Laxus didn't know if he was more surprised by the fact she actually moved when he'd pulled her or by the fact that she hadn't moved her feet and was now achieving an arch in her back that should have broken her spine.

"You know, next time, just tell me to get down instead of pulling, if you don't mind," she stated simply as she kicked her feet up and over, using the momentum to stand upright again. "What?"

"What are you?" Laxus asked as he stood up. "A normal person would've likely broken their back doing that little stunt just now."

"Well a normal person wasn't raised by my papa," Sonya retorted with a smirk. Laxus opened his mouth to inquire further when another voice cut him off.

"Sonya!" The two turned around to see a well-endowed young woman with short purple hair dressed in a green dress running out of the Guild.

"Kinana!" The young woman threw her arms around Sonya's neck and hugged tightly. "Are you hurt?"

"No. But I was terrified when they showed up asking for you specifically! I swear Macao almost had a fit." Kinana pulled away and looked Sonya over quickly, almost like a worried mother. "Then I heard the fight going on out here! Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine, Kina, I promise," Sonya assured, not that it stopped Kinana's checking. Laxus looked back at where the fight had been happening, chuckling slightly to himself as he saw the Fairy Tail Wizards frozen in place, still holding their opponents who included all of Thibault's group aside from the two he and Sonya had taken out. A sigh of relief turned Laxus' attention back to Sonya and Kinana, the latter hugging the former tightly.

"Thank heavens. I was honestly terrified."

"Sorry Kina, I didn't mean to scare you," Sonya comforted as Kinana released her and turned to face him. Only to have to look way up.

"Oh my. You're a big one, aren't you?" she asked with a timid giggle. Sonya placed a hand on Kinana's shoulder and smiled brightly.

"Kinana, let me introduce you to Laxus Dreyar, I'm gonna be playing tour guide for him and his team for a little bit. Laxus, this is Kinana, my sister." Laxus looked between the two.

"Yea…I can see the resemblance," he said slowly. Sonya giggled.

"Well…More like adoptive. I was in the Guild as a waitress soon after your expulsion sir," Kinana explained as she extended her dainty hand to shake his massive one.

"Nice to meet you," the blonde Dragon Slayer said as he gave the tiny appendage a firm shake.

 

The following few hours were filled with cheering, crying and as per Fairy Tail norm, drinking. During the entirety of it, Laxus was silently taking in everything: the run-down building, the changes in people he'd seen only a short while ago for himself but several years for them, and even the changes in his team. While he was happy that the three had branched out some – Freed making a sort of compare-contrast literacy group with Levy and Lucy, Evergreen with other girls, and even Bickslow with Warren and Alzack to some extent – he couldn't help but feel slightly irritated at it too.

Before, he and his team had practically been joined at the hips. They didn't trust anyone else, they didn't really speak to anyone else. Laxus would in order to do whatever he'd wanted; stir up trouble, brag or boast. Now they had other friends. Not as close as each other but a part of him was jealous for his teammates' time and attention. Call him a spoiled brat but he was used to getting their time and attention. While he was aware that they still wouldn't let him down if he needed them, he felt reluctant to pull them away from their new friends, even to catch up on time missed during his banishment.

"Earthland to Laxus, hello?" The snapping of fingers in front of his face made Laxus jump in surprise. Sonya raised an eyebrow at him before offering an open beer bottle to him. A similar one was in her other hand. "Want a drink?"

"Sure, thanks," Laxus said as he took the offered drink. Sonya clicked the two bottles together and kicked a gulp back before leaning against the wall with him. "What're you doing?"

"Enjoying a drink with you," she replied. "Is there a problem with that? You're standing over here staring off into space. So unless you're contemplating the meaning of life and death or your place in the universe, I thought I'd join you."

"And if I had been doing that?"

"Then I'd run in the opposite direction fast as the wind," she stated flatly before taking another drink. Her lips curled into a smile and the two chuckled a little.

"I was just taking in all the changes the Guild's gone through," he said as he took a sip.

"You don't know the half of it. Oh yea! I said we'd look at your paperwork, didn't I." Sonya kicked herself off the wall and gestured for Laxus to follow her up the stairs.

At the top of the stairs, a wooden wall separated the majority of the floor from the goings on of the Guild. There was a long hallway stretching parallel to the stairs and a smaller hall that lead to the infirmary straight back from the stairs. From the left, Laxus could smell Kinana's odd scent as well as Sonya's scent of pine and night. To the right, Laxus could smell paper and ink. Sonya led him to the right and opened the door, for them.

Inside was full of shelves of boxes, almost like a library. Lining the far wall were a number of filing cabinets. Sonya lead him past the boxes, towards the back where there was a simple desk with a few papers scattered on it full of numbers and calculations and behind it was another shelf that was bare save for file folders held in bins labeled with alphabet letters.

"So it's a pretty simple method. The shelves hold the jobs, their receipts, and any letters we get from the Counsel in regards to jobs. Any letters we get in regards to specific Wizards, or anything like their change of address form, information sheets and the like are right here," Sonya said tapping the bins. "Organized in alphabetical order by last name. Then the cabinets are for the jobs, receipts and all information that is matched with the Guild's book." Laxus looked back at the numerous shelves of boxes.

"How much have you gone through?" Laxus asked.

"All of it. The boxes are all labeled. The thing is, they don't match with the book," Sonya retorted as she pulled a massive book from one of the desk's drawers and set it on the desk. "And if they don't match up, then the Magic Counsel gets involved and more than likely, put someone in jail for some bullshit excuse." Laxus sighed and rubbed his temple as Sonya went to the shelf and pulled a file from the D bin. "Here we go." She opened the folder and set it right on top of the book. Laxus set his beer down on the desk and looked over the papers. Pasted right to the inside cover of the file was his information complete with a picture and on the opposite side was an inch-thick stack of papers with a letter from the Counsel laying on top. Laxus took a couple minutes to read it over, then a few more to read it again, making sure he hadn't missed anything in the legal jargon. After reading it a couple more times, he fell back into the chair with a groan.

"Unbelievable," he muttered.

"Yep."

"They wouldn't even allow for Macao to become fifth Master if I was gone for almost a decade?"

"Nope. Unless we could prove you were dead, you were fourth Master and no one else could be in charge of Fairy Tail. We kinda made Macao pseudo-Master just to keep some sense of normalcy but…yea. He couldn't do anything for us." Laxus rubbed his face for a few seconds before heaving a sigh.

"Well, Gramps isn't about to start working on paperwork, even if it's all sorted and organized. So it looks like it's up to me," he muttered as he closed his file and put it back in the bin.

"I'll help you," Sonya offered. "There's been some changes in law while you were sealed away and even the tiniest things can make or break a case, or in our case, a guild." Laxus offered the small woman a smile.

"Alright then. How much have you been able to match in paperwork and in the book?" Sonya walked over to the first cabinet and opened the top drawer, revealing the organized paperwork and folders.

"This much." Laxus almost wanted to snarl. "If they matched in the book, I put a check mark next to it."

"Alright. So what I think happened is that someone got confused during busy times at the Guild and it never got fixed. So have there been any laws rescently that allow for us to change books so that everything can be correct?" Sonya nodded and opened up a drawer on the opposite side of the desk, pulling out another massive tome.

"It actually was written soon after the laws forbidding inter-Guild conflicts," Sonya explained as she flipped through the pages. "Here we are." Laxus read over the place Sonya was pointing to a few times as he had with the letter. "I know the legal stuff is hard to read for some people but basically-"

"It says a new book can be written for the Guild so long as the Master requests a new book from the Magic Counsel," Laxus translated. "This may actually be surprising but I put myself through school in order to prepare for being Master." Sonya's eyes went wide.

"Seriously?"

"Yep. An S-Class mission or two and I was set for a semester. I graduated when I turned 22, so it was only a year ago for me. I got my double major in business administration and economics and a double minor in law and political science."

"There's a science to politics? I thought it was basically do all in your power to kiss up to the Counsel members who's heads are stuck so far up their anuses, they're coming back out their necks." Laxus let out a chuckle.

"That may work for some, but that's just one way. My minor taught me how to get my way and find any and all loopholes."

"I see. Maybe I'll look into political science then."

"You thinking about taking classes?"

"Nope. I'm already taking them. I'm getting a major in Communications and a minor in Spanish. But that may become major later on. I can't really afford going to school but they let me work a job or two a month for them and I get to go to class so long as my grades don't fall below a C." Laxus nodded.

"Alright. I guess the first step is to get a letter to the Counsel requesting a new book. Then you, my team and I are going to have a little meeting with Twilight Ogre."

"What?" Sonya squeaked. Laxus nodded again.

"Yep. Last time I checked there was a standing law saying that any and all Guild debts to the Magic Counsel or any other party cannot be taken on by any individual person without the consent of the Guild Master and two or more Magic Counsel members that are active at the time of the individual's wanting to take over the debt, correct? Let's say that Natsu grew a shred of responsibility and decided to take over paying for the damages he's caused. He would need mine or Gramps' permission, and that of two Counsel members in order to do so. Unless the law changed?"

"Um…I don't know." Laxus started flipping through the book himself until he found what he was looking for and pointed at the section.

"Right here, little lady." Sonya read it over herself and nodded.

"I see. But then Twilight Ogre should've known that and not allowed me to take over the debt. The next section lists out that is any party knowingly allows for this to happen, they can be tried for fraud."

"Probably figured something similar to you. The debt can be better paid by an individual than a Guild who's members have a hard time paying their membership fees every month. Twisted as Twilight Ogre may be, they want their money back and soon, and as a result, they are willing to do whatever they please in order to get it."

"Disgusting," Sonya ground out through her teeth. Laxus nodded as he opened a couple more drawers in order to find a clean sheet of paper, an envelope and the lacrima-stamps, and a working pen. He quickly jotted down the request in the terms laid out by the book, folded it up and slipped it into the envelope.

"Ever seen a lacrima-stamp work?" he asked.

"No. Not really," Sonya admitted. Laxus smirked.

"Then watch carefully." He pulled one off the roll, licked the back to infuse it with some lightning and stuck it onto the corner before dropping the envelope. The space around it blurred and seemed to swirl for a second before the envelope vanished entirely.

"Whoa."

"I was the same way first time I saw that. Lacrima-stamps were invented by a Space Wizard who basically just has teleporter lacrima dust infused in the stamp's glue. Once activated with magic, the dust transports the attached object to the Magic Counsel."

"Why only them?" Sonya asked.

"Because that's where the stamps are made. Once the lacrima dust is activated, it has enough power to return to the place it came from. Now, one more letter and then we can return to the party or head home," he said as he pulled out another sheet of paper and quickly jotted a note to Twilight Ogre's Master before folding it up and slipping it inside another envelope. "Alright. If we leave this on his door, he should get it by tomorrow. Be sure to dress appropriately for the meeting, alright? Business attire."

"Yes sir!" Sonya said with a little salute.

"Alright then. I'll go get this posted on his door and tell Freed, Bicks and Ever the plan for tomorrow. We'll meet up here at seven to discuss some points to cover then the meeting with Twilight Ogre is at 9. Got it?"

"Got it," Sonya replied with a smile. She trotted off and Laxus couldn't help the little chuckle that slipped out. This Sonya was a weird one alright. She could be sassy one second, snarky the next, curious and then happy all within a few moments. Definitely weird. He took a final swig of his beer as a part of him wondered if he'd ever been that way when he was around her age.

Laxus put the legal book away, shut the cabinet drawer, grabbed the files of the members who'd been in the Guild when he'd returned and the records book and placed them in an empty box he found under the desk. His hearing could detect Sonya scurrying about her room, muttering about differences in two shirts and how one might reflect her better than the other.

He quietly made his way down to the Guild area and saw that the Thunder Legion was sitting around a table conversing to themselves. Aside from them, Kinana, Makarov and Macao, the Guild was deserted and the sky outside was dark.

"Laxus!" Bickslow greeted as the blonde neared the table.

"Where did you go? You vanished halfway through everything," Ever asked as he sat down. Kinana brought over a mug of beer and he nodded his thanks.

"Sonya took me to see everything she'd done to organize the paperwork. I gotta say, it's a pretty good and clear system."

"So, your reinstatement?" Freed asked. Laxus let out a small chuckle as Kinana brought over a mug of beer.

"To the Counsel, I was never banished. Think of it as a vacation from Fairy Tail's craziness."

"Yes! The Thunder Legion is back!" Ever cheered as she threw her arms around his broad shoulders.

"Off," he growled half-heartedly. In all honesty, he didn't mind if Evergreen wanted to hug him. When they were younger, she'd always cling to him whenever they were on a job and she was scared. She'd definitely grown up a lot since he'd first recruited her but she was still the same Evergreen. The things was that there were other people watching and dammit he had a reputation to uphold. Then again, Kinana probably wouldn't think anything of it and everyone else was probably too drunk to remember this tomorrow.

"Welcome back old buddy, we missed ya." Bickslow said as he flashed another tongue-flopping grin. Laxus couldn't help the smile pulling at the corner of his lip. Bickslow had always been a little crazy, even by Fairy Tail standards. But his goofiness seemed to make up for the seriousness of the other three members. "Welcome back!" the babies cheered as they flew around him and Evergreen for a moment.

"Indeed. It is good to have you back," Freed said offering a kind smile, which Laxus returned. Freed had always been the most well-spoken and formal of the bunch. Laxus could remember when it was just the two of them, shoved together for some random job. It had to have been the most awkward job that Laxus had ever been through. But once they'd found a common interest to talk about, it was only a matter of time before they became a permanent team and closest friends.

"So what exactly were you two doing upstairs?" Evergreen asked as she sat back down.

"Yea, and what's in the box?" Bickslow added. "What is it? What is it?" the babies mirrored.

"Well. We had some legal stuff to go over. I had a couple letters to write. Which reminds me. Freed." Laxus pulled the envelope for the Twilight Ogre Master and handed it to him. "Can you make sure no one can read this but the intended?" Freed nodded quickly as he took the letter.

"I'll do my best."

"The box has some financial stuff I'm gonna go over tonight. Also, we're meeting up here at 7, and then we're all meeting with Twilight Ogre at 9 tomorrow morning."

"Meeting?" Bickslow asked.

"I'm hoping to go through this without much hassle. But Sonya didn't have the permission of the Guild Master or Counsel members and Twilight Ogre's Master should be aware of that. I'm hoping that if he tries anything, we can use leverage from the fact that he has broken the law multiple times for harassment, damage of property, and attempted assault on Sonya earlier today," Laxus said. "But if diplomacy fails us, we go to plan B." Evergreen nodded and adjusted her glasses. "But we are going there to discuss business first. So dress appropriately but functionally if the situation changes."

"Understood Laxus," Freed said as he finished writing his runes and handed Laxus the envelope. The blonde nodded and finished his beer before standing up and picking up the box.

"Good night guys. See you in the morning," he said as he headed out the door.

 

Laxus sighed as he leaned back against the door of his home. As much as he loved to travel, it was always so nice to come back home. He set the box of Guild work on the table and slipped into the kitchen to find something to eat. He'd have to go shopping soon for groceries.

Laxus was proud of the fact he'd built this house himself. After the fight with his grandfather at only 16 after Ivan's banishment, Laxus had decided to live on his own. A few S-Class jobs and he was able to purchase his own tiny log cabin on the edges of Magnolia and have people come out to teach him how to expand it into the two-story home it was today.

There were four extra bedrooms with his Master one on the second floor in case members of his team needed a place to crash while he had a guest. The first floor was entirely dedicated to the essentials; a kitchen, dining room and a living room. The basement was full of training equipment and each floor had at least one full bath. The living room had a couple bookshelves sandwiching the soft brown suede couch. A large armchair sat next to a self-made fireplace that made up the final wall of the room. Of the entire house, that had to be the part he was most proud of.

The bookshelves were still filled with his business and legal textbooks and some assigned readings he'd taken a liking to while studying or honestly found them amusing to read. A couple of pictures of himself as a teenager with his growing team adorned the shelves as well. Laxus thanked whatever deity was listening that he chose to hire a housekeeper who was automatically paid from his bank account every month. She'd pop in once a week and clean everything so there was no dust or dirt to be seen and fresh food in the cupboards and refrigerator.

Laxus managed to find a dish of roast beef and roasted vegetables that he popped in the microwave as he got himself a glass of water. Setting his food and drink at the table Laxus started looking over more recent entries in the records book. It took a few flips of pages but Laxus managed to find a note Sonya had put in when Twilight Ogre had bought their debt. As it turned out, the debt had been called in five years before and the Guild hall was lost the year after.

One thing that greatly disturbed him was the fact that as more and more people left the Guild, Sonya's name appeared more and more often over the pages until she, Bisca, Alzack and Romeo were the only ones really able to find work.

Laxus groaned to himself as he quickly grabbed a fresh sheet of paper and some of his economics books and began doing some calculations. Even if he only planned to do a page or two right there then finish in the morning, this was not going to be easy.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Thunder Legion negotiates with Twilight Ogre to remove the debt from Sonya.

Laxus let out a small sigh as he plopped down in a chair. The Guild area was deserted. Kinana and Sonya were still snoring away upstairs. The blonde had barely slept at all through the night in order to finish the calculations he'd started the night before, prepare for the meeting, and return the files and records book to the Guild. His restless night had ended in a folder of calculations. Basically trying to create an idea of how much the Guild owed Twilight Ogre without getting too deep into personal finances that were honestly none of his business.

The barking of dogs upstairs drew him out of his thoughts.

"Alright you crazy canines, I'm coming!" Sonya said sleepily. Laxus heard a door open and four sets of paws came charging down the hall, down the stairs and straight to his chair. Summer barked at him and spun around a few times as the Huskies leapt into the air, begging to be played with. "You puppies are gonna drive me nuts, ya know that?" Sonya said as she made her way down the stairs, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She froze on the steps when she caught sight of Laxus.

"Good morning," he said with a wave.

"Morning," Sonya replied as she stepped down onto the floor and Laxus got a good look at her in her sleepwear. She was barefoot and she wore a long nightgown made from buckskin by the looks and smell of it. Over her shoulders was draped a long blanket made from rabbits' furs sewn together. "I gotta let them out to pee."

"Alright." Sonya walked over to the door and opened it up. Immediately Summer and the Huskies darted out into the frost-covered grass. "So I know Summer's name. What about the others?" Laxus asked.

"They're named Rain and Flora for the Hunting Dogs and Snowbelle for the Great Dog," the caramel-haired woman explained as she shut the door and padded over to sit next to him.

"I see. Where did you get this?" Laxus asked, gesturing to her blanket and nightgown.

"I made them myself," she said with a smile.

"Seriously?" She nodded.

"My papa taught me everything I know. When I was little, he'd have me balance on a rope and walk back and forth between two trees he'd tied it to and as I did that he'd teach me to read, write, do math, and all that. He taught me how to fight, how to dance and how to take care of myself. Everything from hunting and skinning and fire-making, to building a shelter and making my own clothes. Of course I wear normal clothes to go into town but when I'm just hanging around the Guild, I just stay in the clothes I've made." Laxus nodded as Sonya stood up again and opened the door, letting the canines back in. Summer trotted over to Laxus and laid down at his feet. The Huskies came over and started jumping around for attention.

"So which one is which?" Laxus asked as he stretched his hand out to let them sniff him. Sonya came over and started petting the little silver one.

"This is Snowbelle. The red one is Rain and the gold one is Flora." Laxus reached over and scratched under Flora and Rain's chins.

"Good morning girls," he said before giving Snowbelle and Summer similar treatment.

"I'm gonna go get dressed," Sonya announced as she headed for the stairs. Her dogs followed her quickly, only Summer remaining behind.

"You do that," Laxus replied as he reached down to pet Summer's head. It couldn't have been even five minutes later that Sonya came down again, this time dressed in brown moccasins, with a long tan skirt and a blue button-down shirt with silver buttons and carrying a small box, some ties, and a hairbrush. She sat herself down next to him again and began brushing her hair. "You look good," he said.

"Thanks," she said as she opened her small box, revealing a number of colored glass beads. Then she brushed through her hair again and then split it into three sections then tied two of them up and out of her way. Then her hands began moving through her hair, braiding it into a complex fashion that Laxus lost track of visually as he watched. The only part he could honestly see and not get confused over was the fact that Sonya added blue and green glass beads to her hair as she worked and she was braiding.

"That looks pretty complicated," Laxus said as she took the three braids and braided them together.

"Yea, I messed up a lot when I was little. But now I can do this pretty well." With that, she tossed her braid over her shoulder and closed the lid of her box. The green and blue beads made a double helix design through the complex mass of braid work.

"Did your dad teach you that?" Sonya nodded. "I don't think I've heard of a lot of fathers who've done something like that before."

"Yea, it's pretty tough but papa loved doing it with me and teaching me to do it myself." Laxus nodded as Sonya hopped up and made her way around the bar. "Hungry?" she asked as she washed her hands.

"No thanks. I ate before I came here," Laxus said. Sonya shrugged and started cooking up some eggs and bacon.

"What about the others? What do they usually like for breakfast?"

"Freed's usually good with some tea and toast with jelly, Bickslow will eat anything and Evergreen will probably eat some fruit." The caramel-haired woman nodded as she let the bacon start to cook. She grabbed an apple, banana, some grapes, strawberries and a bowl before putting a kettle on the stove. She quickly sliced up the fruit and set them to the side once they were done and flipped the bacon. The kettle started whistling and Sonya quickly removed it from the stove, pouring some of the water into a cup with a teabag before setting it to the side to steep. Once the bacon was done, Sonya made quick work of moving the meat onto a plate and pouring the excess grease into a cup for another day, then quickly make some scrambled eggs with what had remained in the pan. Once she was done, she produced a jar of jelly with a knife and set a plate next to Laxus for Freed, then put a fork into the bowl of fruit for Evergreen and then made two plates of bacon and eggs.

"You sure you don't want anything?" Laxus nodded as he opened his folder and went over everything again as Sonya set the two plates down with forks and poured two glasses of orange juice before taking a seat next to him. "What's that?"

"Just some stuff I came up with last night. Calculations based on the last time I saw how much we owed the Magic Counsel, how much the Guild should have paid in terms of monthly dues, and interest rates over the past seven years. And you're getting your money back because none of that should have been paid to them in the first place." Sonya bit her bottom lip and nodded as she started eating her breakfast. "Hey, you focused on the legal aspects of handling paperwork, not money. So it's understandable that you didn't know that law existed." Sonya shrugged.

"Doesn't excuse it." Laxus opened his mouth to speak again when the door opened and Evergreen hurried in, wearing an old coat that started looking like it was getting ready to fall apart.

"Morning," she shivered as she sat down at the table. "My word it's freezing outside!" She pulled off her coat to reveal the dark green business suit and a white blouse underneath that showed off her Guild mark.

"Morning Evergreen," Sonya greeted as the other woman came over. "I didn't know if you were going to get breakfast before you got here so I made you some fruit." Evergreen beamed and wrapped her arms tightly around the younger woman.

"Thank you, you darling thing!" she practically squealed. Sonya rubbed at her ear and shook her head as Evergreen sat down and started eating her breakfast.

"It was Laxus' suggestion," Sonya said before she started eating again. The door opened again and Bickslow and Freed made their way into the building. "Morning guys," she greeted as she turned only to stare wide-eyed. Freed wore a red suit in place of his usual red coat with a white shirt and black tie and coat and his hair pulled up in a ponytail. Bickslow was the biggest difference. Instead of his odd, slightly-knight-inspired clothing, he was dressed in a dark navy-colored suit with a purple tie, black shirt underneath, polished back shoes and dark sunglasses over his eyes. His blue-and-black hair was still spikey but slightly more tamed than usual. Even his babies were in different bodies. Pappa, Poppo and Puppu were now in dolls resembling gentlemen dressed in black suits and Peppe and Pippi were dressed as two brunette ladies in black business suits. Each was adorned with their own tiny pair of black sunglasses as well.

"Good morning Sonya, Evergreen, Laxus," Freed said as he pulled his gloves off and stuffed them into his pockets before taking a seat. Bickslow came over and threw his arms around Sonya and Evergreen's shoulders.

"Ladies," he greeted. Sonya pulled back and kept looking him over, speechless. "What's up Sonya? Falling for me?" the Seith wizard teased.

"Bickslow," Freed scolded as he set about preparing his tea the way he liked it.

"No it's fine. But seriously, had I not known what you look like under the visor, I wouldn't have recognized you. You clean up pretty well," Sonya remarked. Bickslow flashed another tongue-flopping grin and chuckled.

"A lot of people are surprised by that for some reason," he said as he sat down at the final place and began to eat. "Hey Sonya, you make this?" he asked, tapping his fork on the plate.

"Yes. Is there something wrong with it?" Bickslow shook his head.

"No way! This is awesome!" Bickslow began digging into the food and Sonya smiled.

"I'm glad you like it Bickslow." Bickslow stopped long enough to take a drink of orange juice before turning back to her.

"Like it? This is some of the best food I've had!" Sonya's cheeks immediately went red and she started eating her own food. "Seriously Sonya. You got a boyfriend? Cause if not I might just snatch you up for myself!" The words caused Sonya's eyes to go wide before she started coughing in surprise, sending a couple chunks of eggs flying over the bar. Laxus reached over and patted her back to help clear the airway while leveling a glare at Bickslow.

"Honestly Bickslow, enough with the teasing!" Evergreen scolded as she whipped out her fan, ready to use it if needed.

"I'm not teasing! I'm being serious! She's a looker if ever I saw one, she's a great cook and plays poker with the best of us! Any guy would be lucky to have her." Sonya shook her head.

"It's fine. Evergreen, I'm fine," she wheezed as she sat up straight. "No, I don't have a boyfriend. But I never really thought about having one with the Guild not doing so well and all. But if you're asking me out Bickslow, you'll need to impress me," she challenged with a smirk as she continued eating. Bickslow flashed his tongue again with a laugh.

"Challenge accepted!" he cheered. Peppe and Pippi began flying around Sonya's head as the others began flying around Bickslow's. "Bickslow and Sonya sitting in a tree." Sonya shook her head and finished her plate as the dolls each took a line from the song. Laxus also shook his head as he looked over the folder again.

"Is that in regards to the debt Fairy Tail owes?" Freed asked as he finished his toast.

"Yep. Just doing another quick check of my math," Laxus said. Freed nodded.

"Mind if I look it over?" Laxus shrugged and handed the folder over. Freed began skimming over the pages. The door opened again, this time revealing Makarov coming through.

"My word it's chilly out there!" he chuckled as he shut the door. "Good morning children. You lot are up early." Laxus turned and met his grandfather's gaze. For at least half a minute everything was quiet. Sonya looked from grandson to grandfather in a confused manner while the Thunder Legion seemed to be holding their breath.

"We have a meeting today," Sonya slowly spoke up. "Also, Master Makarov, if you want to see the paperwork over the past seven years, I organized it. Just go up the stairs and the office will be the door on your right." Makarov nodded.

"Thank you Sonya my dear," he said with a wide, beaming grin as he moved to go upstairs. Laxus turned back around, half-wanting to snarl at the awkwardness of the previous moment. A part of him felt like the worst was over, but another part wanted to brace for the day to get even worse.

The Twilight Ogre Guild Hall was practically the epitome of over-opulence. Everything of the outside was huge and over decorated. The entrance was through a massive red gateway like a shrine of some sort with a giant ogre's face looking out over top of it.

Upon entering the building, some people were looking over at them with gleeful sneers, some with disgust and others with some fear. Laxus smirked at those people. They probably knew exactly who had walked through their door and had every reason to be afraid.

The Master of the Guild was a rather short man who only came up to Sonya's shoulder and she was a whole foot shorter than Laxus himself. He had brown hair cut military-style, with a thick jaw and lips, a large nose and wearing tinted sunglasses. He also wore a yellow-green pinstriped suit and pants with a purple cape draped over his shoulders, held in place by a pin bearing his Guild's crest. In his mouth was a smoking cigar. Laxus almost gagged at the smell. The cheap thing purely reeked.

Sonya approached the man first and cleared her throat. The Master looked up at her.

"Ah, Miss Vern. Come to grace us with your presence once again?" he said.

"She's here with us, Master Banabosta," Freed said, stepping up next to her. "I do believe that you were given a letter last night expressing a need between you and one of Fairy Tail's returning Masters, correct?" Banabosta regarded him and let out a puff of smoke.

"Yes. I got that. So what's this about?" Laxus moved forward and sat down in the couch across from Banabosta, trying to swallow down the urge to gag as the cigar's stench continued assaulting his heightened sense of smell. His team took up their usual placed behind him and Sonya sat down next to him.

"First of all, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Laxus Dreyar, and by the Magic Counsel's order, I'm Fairy Tail's 4th Master. These are my teammates, Freed Justine, Bickslow, Evergreen and Sonya Vern, who if I'm not mistaken you're already aware of."

"Any interaction between my Guild and Miss Vern is strictly between her and us."

"Not this time," Laxus said. "The law lines it out in a perfectly clear manner sir. And it says that without the approval of two active members of the Magic Counsel and the Master of the Guild that owes the debt. Both of which, Miss Vern did not have. And I'm fairly certain you're aware that our Guild has been having some trouble lately in regards to actually getting jobs. Once word gets out that some of our numbers have returned, we'll be able to pay that loan back and with proper interest. But until then, you're going to return all the money Miss Vern paid you since she 'took' over the debt. After that, you'll probably need to discuss everything else with my grandfather, Fairy Tail's 3rd Master." Banabasta raised an eyebrow.

"That's all you want? Seriously?"

"Yes. While the Guild is one of my concerns, my biggest concern is the fact that your men appeared yesterday at our Guild and based on the fact they've done physical property damage to Fairy Tail over the years, you can probably see where concern for my teammate stems from." Banabosta nodded.

"Understandable. And I suppose it's reasonable considering everything." Laxus smirked, making his scar wrinkle and curl and warp with the movement that had the effect of making his already dark eyes look black and his teeth longer, and even making the muscles in the arm laying over the back of the couch look bigger and tenser than they really were. Sonya glanced and bit her lip as her stomach did summersaults in her nervousness. The magic air surrounding him seemed to thicken to the point where Sonya had difficulty swallowing, like someone was stepping on her throat. She nervously glanced back at Freed, Evergreen and Bickslow who weren't really reacting to the change in atmosphere.

"It's reasonable because the law says it. And it shouldn't require me coming here to say that to you. Now, you're going to return Miss Vern's money and then you, the Third Master and I will meet at another date to discuss the Guild's debt between Guild Masters. But let me make it clear; If you try anything, or your Guild tries anything or any members somehow get it in their buddies' heads, or I ever find out for whatever reason, in whatever way that you're involved in an attack against Fairy Tail, you and I will have a private conversation on our own that I can't guarantee you'll walk away from. Got it?" Banabosta shot to his feet, only to have the Thunder Legion take a step forward. Freed reached into his suit jacket, Evergreen touched the rims of her glasses, and Bickslow's babies seemed to tense in their doll-bodies in anticipation.

"You little punk! You think I'll let you and your pathetic little Guild insult me and my boys like that?! I don't know how this whore did to convince you to do this but trust me, it's not worth picking a fight with this Guild! Me and my boys got a reputation to hold up! You got that kid?!" the diminutive man roared at the top of his lungs as smoke blew around him furiously. Laxus' smirk broadened, his eyes narrowing and his fingers digging into the couch.

"Oh? Here I thought we were discussing money. If you want to start bringing up your Guild's reputation, I'm sure we can talk about that too," Laxus said, his tone betraying a warning to the man.

"You're really starting to push it kid," the man snarled, earning him a wide-eyed, terrified stare from Sonya as he threw the table between them to the side.

"Does this idiot want to fricking die?!" she mentally screamed as she pushed herself back into the back of the seat, feeling the heat radiating off of Laxus' arm through his shirt on the back of her neck, causing a breakout of goose flesh down her spine.

His massive hand tapped her shoulder slightly as turned his attention to her, offering a slight smile. It was one that all but said he knew what was about to happen and he was going to enjoy it.

"Sonya, can you tell me what the creed for the Twilight Ogre Guild is?" he asked. Sonya took a second and straightened in her seat before taking another calming breath.

"P-Pay back that which you owe…Why?" she said, looking Laxus right in his eyes. The massive blonde started chuckling to himself, which evolved into a laugh. Sonya's legs tensed and the metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as her teeth buried themselves further in her lip.

"Hey Freed. Does that sound like an old saying to you too?" he asked.

"If you ask me, it sounds an awful lot like an eye for an eye," the Rune mage said, seemingly making the atmosphere around him drop drastically.

"You know, if you think on it that way, it would mean that you owe us," Evergreen said as she stepped forward.

"For seven years of abusing our Guild mates and damaging property," Bickslow added.

"Indeed. Retribution is beyond due in my opinion," Freed concluded. Laxus stood up, towering over Banabosta.

"When I think about all the people you hurt, how you made them feel worthless. It honestly makes me sick to my gut." Lightning began sparking around Laxus' arms and crawled over his shoulders. "So listen here you little pest, if its war you want, you'll get it. You insulted me and my team, and our Guild, then you further insulted one of our members. Trust me, this is gonna be some of the worst repayment you've ever received," the hulking man growled out before pulling one massive arm back and with a crack of thunder, delivered a brutal blow to Banabosta's face, sending the man flying back into the wall. A few brave but stupid fools rushed forward to help their leader, only for some to turn to stone, some to be blasted by Bickslow and his babies, and the remaining to be caught up in Freed's runes. Sonya whirled around in her seat to see.

"What in the-"

"Just stay put Sonya," Freed said as more Twilight Ogre members got up and charged at them. Sonya let out a small snarl as she reached into her pocket and pulled out three tiny lacrimas and popped them all in her mouth, swallowing them a second later. Her eyes flashed silver for a split second before she leapt over the back of the couch and landed next to Bickslow in time to land a harsh kick to a charging Twilight Ogre member, the blow sending him flying back into more of his buddies. Bickslow turned to thank her, only to freeze.

Where Sonya stood was a bright pillar of silver and gold spiritual energy. Around her were the silvery outlines of a massive bear, a beautiful dear and a small rabbit. All three animals had a small silver thread connecting them to the young woman.

Bickslow quickly shook his head and returned to focusing on the fight. Sonya raced forward and threw herself into the crowd of charging members. Since it was easy to tell where she was by the ones that were sent flying, the Thunder Legion kept up their own attacks as Laxus slowly neared the Master, knocking away any members that came up to help their Master like the lowly gnats they were. Upon reaching the man's well-polished shoes, he released a long growl, his canine teeth elongating in warning.

"Laxus! You might want to see this!" Sonya called. Laxus turned around to see she was holding one of the few remaining members in a half Nelson where she was standing by their request board. The first thing Laxus noticed was the fact she was holding someone he actually recognized; a former Fairy Tail member. He couldn't remember the man's name or magic type, but he knew he'd seen him a few times at the bar, trying to unsuccessfully flirt with Mirajane or Cana. Sonya kicked her knee into his back before letting him drop to the floor, stunned. Then she plucked a job from the board and ran over to him to give him the page.

Laxus looked it over carefully. Every job request looked normal to anyone, but what a lot of people aside from Guild Masters and their most apparent successors didn't know was the fact that every job request was printed on paper with a specific watermark, bearing the name of the Guild and its crest: a means of showing to the postal services the Guild it was intended for. Laxus' eyes widened as he held the page up and in the light, the Fairy Tail crest and name were clearly visible, taking up the majority of the page.

"Well that's interesting," he commented. "But now it makes a little more sense as to why you were so quick to agree to my wanting the debt removed from Miss Vern. No Master would want their Guild associated with stealing requests from other Guilds. I wonder how many of these your Guild has gone on." Banabosta swallowed nervously as the two mages looked down at him. "I think we're done here. Believe me, the Third Master will be informed of this, as well as the Counsel. But if you get together all the job requests intended for Fairy Tail, I won't mention this to the Counsel. Any attempt to do otherwise, will only end up with you flying through that wall behind you." Banabosta bared his teeth, trying to appear menacing but failing before the Dragon Slayer who overshadowed him in more ways than one. Sonya turned around.

"Hey! Michael, wasn't it?" she snapped at the wizard she'd just put down, who was slowly trying to crawl away. "Go get the jobs intended for Fairy Tail , even the completed ones. Now!" The wizard scrambled to his feet and ran to do as told as the rest of the Twilight Ogre members were taken care of by the Thunder Legion.

In a few minutes, he returned with two boxes of jobs taken from the boards.

"I don't know what the Master does with the completed ones. I can't get into that area!" he cried in fear as he handed the boxes to Sonya.

"Fine. Then today, you are going to go in there with your Master or whoever has access to that place, and get every Fairy Tail job that your Guild completed. The Third Master and I will be back the day after tomorrow and if it's not done, we'll do far worse than we did today, understood?" Laxus snarled, his nose picking up the fact that the terrified man started pissing himself.

"Yes sir!" he cried, backing away.

"We're leaving," Laxus said as he and Sonya headed for the door. The Thunder Legion followed behind them. Upon leaving a safe distance between them and the building, Sonya let out a long breath of relief.

"Thank goodness that's over," she sighed, hefting the boxes up. Laxus took one and was actually surprised to find it had some weight to it. Bickslow came up to Sonya and took the other one.

"Let's head back to the Guild," Laxus said. The group started walking in the Guild's direction.

"Hey Sonya, can I ask you something?" Bickslow asked.

"You just did. But yea, you can ask another one if you want," she said with a slight smirk.

"During the fight, there were animals attached to your soul. What's that all about?" he asked. Sonya beamed.

"It's a technique my papa taught me. He taught me to never waste anything, especially anything I hunt. So I take the bones from my prey and crush them with some small lacrimas into dust. Then I form those into small pills I can swallow dry. Doing that allows me to take on the characteristics of the animal. For example, the bear provides me with extra physical strength, the rabbit with speed, the deer with grace, so on and so forth." Bickslow nodded. "It also allows the animal to have a little burst of life even after death and when their power fades, I know they've passed on peacefully."

"So your father raised you with a heavy Native influence I see. They were some of the best sources I've read about in terms of souls," the Seith Wizard said.

"Yep. But he wasn't my father. My papa found me when I was a feral kid, probably about four or five, and he took me in. Every day he'd have me balance on a rope he'd tied between two trees for hours all while learning to read, write, do math, and he'd have me do things like reciting literature, philosophy and biology facts to him. When that was done, he'd have me come down from the rope and he'd teach me to fight, dance, hunt, cook, and even make my own tools and shelters. At night, he'd teach me about magic and the constellations. Then we'd restart the whole thing again in the morning."

"Balancing on a rope?" Evergreen asked. "What was that for?"

"To teach me to walk like a lady of society. He and I might have lived in the forest but no child of my papa was going to be anything if not proper, well-educated and respectable." Evergreen nodded at the information.

"Sounds like your papa was pretty strict."

"Not at all. He just had expectations. If I did as expected of me, he was proud and if I fell short a little, he was disappointed but he'd just tell me that tomorrow always had room for improvement. In all honesty, isn't that what we've all got?" she asked as she hopped up onto the tiny wall separating the road from the river and balanced herself on the edge of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: For Sonya's hairstyle. Split you hair into three sections like a braid. Then take the first section and braid it normally. Then for the second section, split it into three like you would to braid. Then for each section, make an individual braid normally. Then braid the three braids together. For the third section, split it into three like you would for braiding. Then split it again so you have 9 individual sections. Then take each section and braid it normally. Once those braids are done, you should have nine braids. Braid them together three at a time so that you have three braids made up of three braids. Then take those braids and braid them together to complete the section. The take all three finished braids and braid them together into one full braid of hair.


	5. Chapter 5

Laxus and Bickslow set the two boxes on the desk with slight sighs of relief. Sonya perched herself on the edge of the desk and looked over at them.

"So what now?" she asked as Evergreen and Freed stood around the desk.

"My guess would be to get these things organized and posted on our board," Laxus said. "In the meantime I'm gonna go find Gramps and tell him what I found."

"And while you do that, I'll get us some stuff to snack on while we work," Sonya chirped as she hopped off her perch and followed after the massive blonde to the Guild area. The caramel-haired woman went over to Kinana as the purple-haired woman was filling mugs of beer for Macao, Wakaba and Makarov, who were all seated at the bar. The elder of the three eyed his grandson as he approached. Macao and Wakaba turned and upon seeing him there, eyed him warily, as if he was a caged animal about to attack them.

Sonya looked at the men as she pulled a few bowls and a massive tray from the cabinets and began filling the bowls with snack foods. Her shoulders dropped some when her eyes landed on Makarov before looking back at Laxus.

"Don't worry about me, I'm just here in case Sonya needs help."

"Help with what?" Macao asked.

"I'm getting snacks," Sonya said. "The Thunder Legion and I have some jobs to sort through."

"But I thought you finished that," Wakaba objected.

"I did. We had a meeting with Twilight Ogre and while there, we found out Twilight Ogre recruited a former member of Fairy Tail and have been stealing jobs from us. My guess is that since he was a Fairy Tail Wizard, the delivery man actually thought he was giving the jobs to our Guild. Then when they finished taking the jobs they wanted, they sent us the leftovers no one wanted," Sonya explained as she set a bowl of assorted nuts and another of chips on the tray.

"Are you serious?!" Macao asked. Sonya nodded.

"Oh and Master Makarov, you and Laxus are to go back the day after tomorrow to collect the jobs that were intended for Fairy Tail but done by Twilight Ogre as well as discuss the matter of the Guild's debt with Master Banabosta. However, I'd recommend saying we need some time to figure out when certain jobs were taken, how much it was worth and by compiling all that, we can determine how much we really owe in consideration to the stolen jobs."

"I agree," Laxus said.

"You two did what?!" Makarov shouted, making Laxus tense as his ear closest to his grand sire began ringing at the volume. Sonya visibly flinched as she set a bowl of fruit on the tray.

"The Thunder Legion went in order to relieve me of the debt and insure that it was placed back in the responsibility of Fairy Tail," Sonya explained. "Then Banabosta kept taking things too far. Honestly I'm not surprised Laxus snapped when he did. What more do you want Macao? After all, Laxus was practically the textbook definition of civility while we were there while Banabosta kept provoking him." Sonya reached into the cabinet and grabbed another tray to set a bowl of pretzels on it. "Why do I feel like I'm forgetting something?"

"Drinks?" Kinana suggested.

"Oh yea, that's right! Thanks Kina," Sonya said as she pulled a couple pitchers from the cupboards and filled one with juice and the other with beer before placing five mugs on the tray as well. "Laxus, could you carry this please?" Sonya asked as she handed him the tray of food.

"Sure. You good with the other one?" Laxus asked as Sonya ducked into the refrigerator.

"Yep. Just one last thing. Head on up, I'll be there in a moment." Laxus shrugged before making his way up the stairs and back into the office. He set the tray on the desk and took a seat on the floor with his team.

"Where's Sonya?" Bickslow asked.

"Getting more food. She'll be up in a minute," Laxus said as he began shifting through the pages.

"Well, we might need it," Evergreen said with a shrug. "Considering some of this stuff is filed wrong."

"What do you mean?" Laxus asked. The brunette handed over a few requests and pointed at the description. "Some of these monsters seem more S-Class as opposed to regular, which they're listed as.

"Are you kidding me right now?" Laxus groaned. "This situation just keeps getting better and better."

"Indeed. It looks as though we have a long day ahead of ourselves," Freed agreed. A sharp knocking on the door sounded before it creaked open.

"Hey guys!" Sonya called as she eased her way in.

"Are you sure you've got all that?" Kinana asked.

"Yea. I got it," the other assured. "Sorry about that guys. But I guess I just…got a little carried away." The young woman came around the shelves, carrying one tray filled with pitchers of drinks and a stack of mugs, the other had a stack of empty plates and a few filled with more snacks like a tray of meats, cheeses and crackers and a plate of cookies, and a final one was balanced on her head, filled with more bowls of snack foods. One by one, Sonya set the trays on the desk and then took a seat.

"What exactly is all that?" Bickslow asked.

"Most of it is stuff I made," Sonya said. "Kinana and I usually have a couple hours after everyone leaves before we get tired, so we bake things, experiment with some recipes and some stuff is just stuff my papa taught me to make like jerky. Since I don't know what you guys like and I don't know how long this will take, I figured it would be best if we played it safe over sorry."

"Well we'll probably need the extra food. Some of this stuff is labeled as a regular job but sounds more like S-Class level stuff according to the descriptions," Evergreen said. Sonya nodded.

"So how about we make three piles then? One of correctly labeled S-Class, correctly labeled regular and one pile for the ones that don't sound quite right? After we finish this, we can discuss the jobs we're unsure of with Master Makarov and he can choose the teams to go on the jobs. Or we could just go on them as a team."

"Wait a minute," Evergreen said. "Doesn't the law say Guild Masters can't go on jobs? With Laxus being the fourth Master, won't that mean he can't go with us?"

"Actually, we can thank Master Bob for that one. He started asking around the Counsel when they proclaimed Makarov dead and named Laxus as Master. Since they had no body, they said Makarov's death was only suspicion. Unless Makarov's body was found dead, Laxus would be allowed to continue working as a Wizard like before. And then since Makarov is alive, Laxus is still allowed to move as freely as he'd like but he does hold the honorary title of Fairy Tail's fourth Master," Sonya explained.

"I see. So taking care of Guild matters such as he did earlier would be perfectly legal as well?" Freed asked. Sonya nodded again.

"Yep. Although the title is honorary, he is allowed to basically act as the Master would officially but is also allowed to act as a simple Wizard."

"Don't know if you've seen me in action lately but I'm not some simple Wizard," Laxus poked, jabbing at Sonya's leg with his shoe. She smirked.

"If you say so," she said as she grabbed herself a drink and some papers to start looking through. Laxus gave her a glare before returning to his work. He heard Sonya make a soft hum before the room fell into a comfortable silence of rustling papers, someone occasionally shifting or getting something from the desk.

Laxus groaned as he finally stood up at the end of the two boxes of work. His spine released several loud pops as he stretched and several muscles in his legs and hips screamed in protest of his movements. Sonya twisted herself around until her spine also released several noises. She sighed in relief.

"That felt good," she said as she twisted her neck, causing more popping noises. She then moved to her fingers, making more of the small noises with each one. Bickslow chuckled and Freed smiled gently at her. Evergreen flinched as each knuckle popped.

"No doubt," Laxus agreed as he popped his neck as well and Evergreen stretched out. The group had managed to get both boxes organized into S-Class jobs, regular jobs and the ones that sounded like there'd been some kind of mix-up. The mix-up pile was almost three times the size of the other stacks.

"So then, this pile we talk to Master about, right?" Sonya asked.

"As much as I know we should, I doubt he will. The geezer's more interested in drinking than in actual Guild work," Laxus explained. The caramel-haired woman groaned.

"Are you serious?" she hissed out as she stood up.

"For now, we should get the jobs that are regular posted so that the people who owe rent can start paying it off. We should probably pick a job ourselves to go on, if anything so Ever won't need to worry about rent," Laxus said, earning a disheartened groan and a slight whimper from the mentioned woman.

"Don't remind me," she moaned. Sonya offered a sympathetic smile and placed a hand on Evergreen's shoulder before getting up and collecting the empty dishes and trays.

"Don't forget Laxus, you have that meeting with your grandfather and Twilight Ogre the day after tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow you guys can meet in here and discuss strategy?" Sonya pointed out as she made her way out of the office.

"Maybe," Laxus said dismissively. Sonya let out a little sigh and slipped out of the room. She carefully made her way down the stairs so that she wouldn't drop her massive load. Once Kinana saw her, she came over and took half the burden. The two brought the dishes to the sink and Sonya started washing them. As she did, Sonya cast a quick glance around the Guild. Aside from Lucy, Warren, Max, Makarov and Macao, the place was empty. The men, Sonya wasn't surprised to see at all. But Lucy was another story. As far as Sonya was aware, Lucy had an apartment all her own and was very proud of the fact she paid her own rent and was writing a novel. SO why was Lucy here when it was getting so late?

The caramel-haired woman finished washing the dishes and made her way towards Lucy as she dried her hands on a towel.

"Lucy?" she said as she took a seat next to the other Celestial Wizard, gaining her attention. "What are you doing here so late? Shouldn't you be heading home soon?"

"I would. But I don't have a place to stay. My landlady won't let me back into my apartment unless I pay seven years' worth of rent." Sonya's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?!" she cried. Lucy nodded. "How much is it?" The minute the words passed her lips, Sonya slapped a hand over her mouth. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. It's none of my business."

"It's fine. But I only pay 70,000 Jewel a month for it." Sonya sighed as she sat down.

"I'm so sorry about that. But still, that's crazy. The girls at Fairy Hills have to pay 100,000 Jewel a month but they're allowed back in their apartments, even though the Tenrou group owes 30,000 a month more than you do."

"Guess my landlady's just different," Lucy said as she laid her head down.

"If that's the case, where did you sleep last night?"

"Honestly, I didn't. I was walking around looking for any amounts of spare change that people had dropped. I decided that I'm gonna try to go visit my dad in Acalypha. At least, when I can."

"Oh? You mean the town with the merchant guild…What is it?"

"Love and Lucky?" Lucy offered, immediately covering a small giggle.

"Yes! That's the one," Sonya said with a snap of her fingers. "Is something funny?"

"Oh. No not really. It's just…the last time I saw my dad he told me that I got my name from that sign. It was broken so the K was missing. They apparently thought it was so funny and decided that if they had a daughter, they'd name her Lucy." Sonya let out a giggle.

"That's so sweet. My papa did something similar for me. When I was little my papa gave me another name aside from Sonya. It's more of an honorary thing…He was kinda adopted by a tribe of Native descendants and since he was huge on their culture, he raised me in that culture. When I was just a little kid, he'd call me Shenandoah, which means beautiful daughter of the stars. Then about a week or so before he disappeared, he gave me the name Tala, which means wolf. Considering that I usually have the Lupus constellation with me, I think it fits."

"Your dad disappeared? How long ago?" Lucy asked.

"About seven years ago. Roughly around the time you guys vanished. But I know he's out there and doing fine. If he had to leave me, there was a good reason and it was to protect me. From what, I don't know. But he never did anything without reason."

"I see. Still. I'm sorry that happened to you. You were only, what, twelve?" Sonya nodded.

"Yep. I was the same age Wendy is now. But getting back to our topic, how about you stay here with me and Kinana tonight and tomorrow I'll drive you to Acalypha?" Lucy's eyes widened.

"Seriously?" Sonya nodded. "That would be awesome! Thank you Sonya!" Lucy cheered as she reached over the table and took hold of Sonya's hands. A sharp zap of static electricity shot between the two girls' hands, making the two of them flinch and pull back their left hands to check for any damage. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Sonya dismissed with a wave before turning towards Kinana. "Hey, Kina, can Lucy borrow a nightgown?"

"Of course she can!" Kinana called over her shoulder. Sonya got up and gestured for Lucy to follow.

"Come on. Let's go upstairs. I'll grab you some of Kinana's pajamas to borrow and get the bed ready." Lucy nodded and followed Sonya upstairs. As they passed the landing and turned down the hall, the two almost ran smack into Laxus as he headed to the stairs.

"Oh hey Laxus, heading home?" Sonya asked.

"Yea. What about you two? I know you live here Sonya but Blondie doesn't," Laxus said. Lucy's wide, surprised eyes turned to an angry pout.

"Watch it big guy, you're blonde too," she snapped, sharply poking her finger into Laxus' chest with each syllable. Only a few seconds after her hasty comeback, Lucy's eyes went wide as she realized the exact bear she'd just been literally poking and she froze in place. Laxus raised a questioning eyebrow at the gutsy, smaller blonde and Sonya looked between the two.

"Whatever you say Blondie," Laxus said as he moved to walk past the girls. Sonya clapped her hands together.

"That's it!" she cheered, making Lucy jump and Laxus snap around.

"What's it?" Laxus asked.

"Well, first. Laxus, have you ever taken a job with Lucy?"

"No. Why?"

"Lucy was having some trouble with her landlady and I know we have a lot of jobs to go through. And I just thought of a way to fix all three problems!" Sonya cheered.

"Three problems?" Lucy asked.

"Yea. For one, you need money, we need to get through these jobs, and the three of us should try being on a team at least once! I mean, when I first joined, I went on at least one job with every person and team. It gave me a good idea for who I worked best with. Since Lucy is still technically a rookie it would be really good for her to do different jobs with different people. And if you're with us, we could take one of those jobs that we're unsure of without worry because you're with us!" Laxus raised his eyebrow again as he thought her words over.

"You figured all that out in five seconds?" he asked.

"Yes. Now would you answer the question please?" Sonya replied with a bright smile.

"Well. I don't see a problem with it. You got any objections Blondie?"

"Aside from you calling me Blondie, none!" Lucy snapped.

"Alright then! Lucy and I have a little trip to Acalypha planned for tomorrow but when we get back, we can grab one of the fliers and after your meeting, we can get on our way!" the caramel-haired woman cheered excitedly.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Good night," Laxus said as he made his way down the stairs.

"You're not even going to ask what we're doing?" Sonya called.

"Nope! Thank Evergreen for that," Laxus replied as he vanished from view.

"Good night then," Sonya called with an exaggerated sigh. "Come on, let's get to bed. We've got a big week ahead of us!" With that, Sonya wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and led her into the bedroom shared by Kinana and Sonya.

The room was small, probably half the size of Lucy's apartment. There were two beds with a single nightstand set between them decorated with a small collection of books. There was a small couch next to the window that overlooked a small garden in the yard. The floor was decorated with a bear-skin rug and the beds had fur blankets. In the corner was a small closet and dresser with a mirror mounted on the wall. There was a small shelf next to the closet filled with books and a few skeins of colored yarn.

"It's not much but its home," Sonya said as she ushered Lucy into the space. Lucy smiled as she reached down and pet the rug's coarse fur and Sonya went to the dresser to produce a light purple nightgown. "Here. You and Kinana are about the same size. How about you get changed on her side and I'll get changed on mine?" Sonya offered, handing the clothing to the blonde.

"Sure. Thanks again Sonya," Lucy said as she moved to the bed furthest from the window and got changed, setting her keys on the nightstand. The nightgown went to Lucy's knees and felt light as a feather on her skin. Sonya placed her key pouch on the nightstand next to Lucy's key ring before the caramel-haired woman pulled on a buckskin nightgown and gave it a little twirl, letting the skirt flare around her.

"It's no problem Lucy. We're technically in-laws thanks to Leo and Leona so it's the least I can do," Sonya replied as she undid her braid, letting her hair fall free, tumbling down to her bum in caramel-colored waves with pieces of blue and green catching the light, almost giving the glass beads the appearance of stars. She then bent down next to her bed and produced the box to hold her beads in before removing them from her hair.

"So. What do you think?" Lucy asked as she gave her own nightgown a twirl. Sonya giggled as she put the box away and pulled her hair back into a simple braid.

"You look beautiful." Sonya put her box away and then grabbed a pillow off her bed and set it on the couch.

"Oh, I can make the bed," Lucy said as she moved to stop Sonya. The other Celestial Wizard gave her an odd look.

"What? The bed's already made," she said, gesturing to her own bed. "I know it might look a little messy but the sheets and all that got changed this morning." Lucy immediately began shaking her head.

"I can't take your bed," she implored.

"I want you to. You're my guest here. It would be rude of me to make you sleep on the couch when the bed is probably closer to what you're used to."

"But I feel awful, like I'm kicking you out of your bed."

"You're doing no such thing Lucy. It was my choice and I insist." Lucy bit on her lower lip slightly as she looked at the bed.

"Um…Sonya?" The other woman looked over at Lucy from the closet as she grabbed a few blankets. "If anything I say makes you uncomfortable, just tell me to shut up. But…I think I'd feel better about sleeping in your bed if you were in there with me." Sonya's eyebrows shot up. "Sorry! It's just…I don't mind I mean. Natsu sometimes gets into my bed with me while I'm sleeping so I'm used to sleeping with someone else. So if you wanted to sleep in your bed, I'd be perfectly fine sharing with you unless it makes you uncomfortable!" Sonya came over and placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder, her eyes and smile gentle, causing the blonde to stop speaking.

"Thank you Lucy. If it will make you more comfortable, I'd be happy to share my bed with you tonight." Lucy smiled back at the girl as Sonya placed the spare blankets at the foot of the bed and the two crawled in. Sonya pulled her keys from her pouch and summoned her canines. All four hopped up onto the bed, the three dogs curling up partially on Lucy and Sonya's feet and Summer snuggled her way under the blanket behind Sonya.

"You sleep with your Spirits?" Lucy asked. Sonya nodded.

"Call it a safety measure. A few times it's been one of my best decisions. There's been a couple people who broke in and these puppies stopped them. Plus, they keep my toes so toasty warm!" Sonya started giggling. Lucy joined in as the two laid down on the pillows.

"If I ever find a spirit like these guys, I might do that too," Lucy said as she reached over and petted Summer's fur.

"They shed a lot though so don't be surprised if you wake up covered in fur." The two burst into another round of giggles. "Tomorrow, want me to braid your hair and put beads in it like I do mine?" Sonya asked.

"Think you could? My hair's not all that long," Lucy said, combing her fingers through some of the blonde tresses.

"Yea. My hair was about the same length as yours when my papa started braiding my hair. I'm sure we could do something to make it look really nice."

"Sure then. I'm in your hands," Lucy giggled.

"You won't be disappointed," Sonya replied with another round of her own giggles. "We should really start getting to sleep."

"Yea, we should," Lucy agreed.

"Good night Lucy."

"Good night Sonya," Lucy yawned as she closed her eyes and fell asleep, with Sonya quick to follow. Summer remained alert, watching the girls. The wolf didn't even flinch when Kinana came into the room for bed herself.

When Kinana was softly snoring away in her own bed, Summer sniffed at Lucy and Sonya's hands that were mere centimeters apart from each other on the mattress. Sonya twitched in her sleep and their pinkies touched, causing a small spark of electricity to come to life between them for a split second. Both girls smiled in their sleep.

Summer let out a little huff before maneuvering herself to lie in between the girls. She licked at their touching pinkies before laying her head down for the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: Shenandoah and Tala are both names from the Cherokee nation meaning "Beautiful daughter of the stars" and "Wolf" respectively. Leave a comment, bookmark and kudos if you liked!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: I can't believe my nerdiness! Guys. I really can't. And I cannot make this up. How did it start? I decided to try to figure out how much paper the Thunder Legion went through, how much it weighed and somehow that spiraled into figuring out Natsu and Laxus' weights.
> 
> I went on a few assumptions; for the jobs they were that the pages are similar size and weight to an 8.5x11 letter page in our world, that the Thunder Legion took an average of 27-30 seconds per page to figure out which pile it went into and that the boxes were filled completely. The end result was that both boxes combined held 10,000 jobs and that the Thunder Legion finished their work somewhere around 12:30-2 am. Yikes!
> 
> For Laxus and Natsu's weights that took a little more looking into. For starters we don't have Laxus' official height. But we have Natsu's. Natsu stands at 5'9" or 175 cm and that is the height of Laxus' shoulder roughly. So going off of that, we can come to the conclusion that Laxus is just around 190 cm or 6'3". Okay, awesome! The next part of this is to find Natsu's weight…But oh…We don't have that. It's not officially stated how much Natsu weighs. But that's okay. We can make a rough estimate based on BMI. This is actually helpful considering Laxus and Natsu seem to be a similar BMI, maybe one or two units off. So, I looked it up and while it's not officially stated, Natsu's figure actually fits a rough BMI of 23 or 24. So now we just set up our equation of BMI=(weight/(height in meters squared)). This means that Natsu's BMI calculations would be 23 = (weight/(1.75^2)) or 23 = (weight/3.0625). By isolating weight, we come to the conclusion that at a BMI of 23, Natsu weighs roughly 70.4375 Kg, or just 70.4 Kg. That means Natsu is 155 pounds.
> 
> Now with Laxus we do the same thing. If his BMI is roughly 25 and he stands at 190 cm, his equation looks more like this: 25 = (weight/(1.9^2)). 25 = weight/3.61. This isolates Laxus' weight to be 90.25 Kg or roughly 200 pounds. 200?! Are you serious?! That's crazy! I have cousins the same height as Laxus and they weigh over 250 pounds and play football! And get this! Having a BMI of 25 would actually mean Laxus is overweight!
> 
> Now note, BMI doesn't account for muscle mass. And it's just an estimate.
> 
> Also, thanks to kurahieiritr JIO for the response about Spirit Animals and sorry you're not feeling well. Hope you get better soon. 
> 
> Fun fact: During my research I found out that Laxus' build would be considered "Built" and Natsu's would be "Athletic" by the Men's Body Chart 2.0. The more you know. Now then, on to the chapter!

Lucy slowly opened her eyes to light shining through the window. The spot next to her was empty save for Snowbelle curled up in a perfect circle. The Husky's bright blue eyes twinkled happily.

"Good morning. You're one of Sonya's Spirits." The dog barked and sat upright. Lucy stretched and looked around. Kinana's bed was empty and Lucy's clothes from the night before were folded neatly on the couch. Lucy got up and quickly got changed before heading downstairs. Kinana was tacking up jobs and Sonya was cooking breakfast for the three of them. Already Sonya's hair was braided in the same style she'd worn the day before.

"Morning Lucy! Hi Snowbelle, thank you for watching her for me," Sonya greeted as the silver canine trotted over to her.

"Good morning. Is there anything I can do to help you guys?" Lucy asked.

"No. We can handle this," Kinana said. "If you want, the infirmary has a shower you can use as well as toiletries."

"Thanks Kinana," Lucy said with a nod before turning to head up the stairs.

"Oh Lucy! Before you go, anything you want for breakfast?" Sonya called.

"Um. Eggs and toast is fine," Lucy said.

"How do you want your eggs?"

"Scrambled is fine. Thanks."

"No problem. You go do your thing," Sonya said as she returned her attention to the stovetop. Lucy headed up the stairs and went through her morning routine before heading back downstairs to eat with the two other young ladies. Summer and the Huskies laid at Sonya's feet, gnawing on pieces of rawhide. Next to Sonya's plate was a hairbrush and her box of beads.

"So, you two are headed to Acalypha today?" Kinana asked as they began to eat.

"Yep. Why? Did you see a job from there?" Sonya asked.

"Yes. Kinda. There's a delivery job that I just put up. If you two want it, I can grab it before we get busy," the purple-haired woman offered.

"I'm up for it. Lucy?" Lucy nodded. Kinana smiled and hurried over to the board to pull off the delivery job. The purple-haired bartender then handed the job to Lucy before sitting back down to her breakfast.

"Alright. Pretty straightforward," the blonde commented.

"What's the delivery?" Sonya asked as she continued eating.

"Looks like we just need to bring firewood to the Love and Lucky Guild so they won't freeze this winter," Lucy explained. Sonya nodded.

"Sounds easy enough. But we're going to need some winter protection. I let the dogs out this morning and apparently it snowed last night. It's only a few inches but still it's freezing out. Thankfully I have some extra stuff you can borrow if you want." Lucy nodded.

"Thanks Sonya," the blonde said as she dug into the food. After a few more bites, Sonya finished eating and moved over to Lucy as she continued to eat.

"Would you like me to do your hair?" she asked. Lucy nodded eagerly. Sonya smiled and brought over the hairbrush and box, opening it up so she could look through the colored glass beads. Finally she picked out some bright blue and pink beads before she began brushing through Lucy's hair. She tied up one small part on one side before selecting another on the other and starting to braid. Lucy could feel the gentle tugging on her scalp, alterting her when Sonya would collect more hair. Once Sonya was done with one side, she repeated the process on the other before she moved to the back, combining the two braids into one and braiding them down Lucy's neck before finally tying it off. "There we go. All done." Lucy brushed her fingers against the braids that almost made a little crown in her hair, the glass beads were cool against her fingertips.

"Thank you Sonya," Lucy said as the other Celestial Wizard collected the hairbrush and box and took them upstairs.

went upstairs, her canines following after her. One by one, the dogs brought down different winter clothes to hand to Kinana, who set them on a table. Lucy came over and looked the things over.

"Here a go," Kinana said, handing over a thick brown coat. Lucy slipped it on over her shoulders and shivered at the warmth and soft feel of the fur tickling her neck. Next came the gloves and boots and finally she slipped on a soft white hat. All the fur was already warming her up while also making her want to curl up in the soft fur and take a nap.

Sonya came down the stairs with a bright smile and with a backpack slung over her shoulder, already wearing a gray hat with a black and gray trail of fluff falling down over her braid. It took a second for Lucy to realize the cap was made of raccoon fur. Without missing a beat, Sonya slipped on her own coat, gloves and boots before she headed for the door. Lucy slipped the job flyer into her pocket and followed Sonya and her dogs out the door.

"See you later Kina!" Sonya called as the door started closing.

"Be safe girls!" Kinana called as she collected the breakfast dishes. Once the door closed Lucy took in a deep breath of the chilly morning air. Snow crunched under the two girls' feet and under the dogs' paws. Summer was standing by Sonya patiently, while the Huskies were dashing through the snow. Sonya pulled a key from her pouch and held it out.

"Open, Gate of the Charioteer!" The car appeared in the snow-covered yard just beyond the small gate marking the way to the Guild's front door. "Ready?" Lucy nodded and the two made their way to the car. Sonya pulled herself up and opened the door before reaching a hand down to help Lucy in. The blonde took her hand and let herself get pulled up. Once the blonde Celestial Wizard was seated in the shotgun seat, Sonya let out a small whistle. Lucy heard a bark and Sonya shot her arm down, catching the canine by the scruff and bringing them into the backseat. Once the dogs were seated, Sonya shut her door and started driving.

"So what are we going to do with the wood? The car doesn't really have a trunk to store it in," Lucy asked.

"Well. If we need something like a trailer, Charioteer can make one. Don't worry, we've got this. Now, you mentioned last night that Natsu gets into your bed with you?" Sonya asked.

"Yea. It bothered me a lot. But I'm used to it." The caramel-haired Wizard gave Lucy a wary look for a second.

"What else does he do?"

"Um. Well he and Happy eat like crazy and leave a huge mess. It drives me crazy when I get home and find that pigsty. Then there's Gray's stripping habits. I swear I could fill a second wardrobe with all the clothes of his I've picked up and cleaned. Then there's Erza's constant nosing through my underwear and commenting on it. Then there's all three of them taking over my fights when we're on jobs. I get they're trying to protect me but still, I'm not some fragile doll." Sonya pressed lightly on the brakes.

"Are you serious?" she asked. Her eyes seemed to be begging for the truth.

"Yea. But hey, they're my team." Sonya's eyes widened and her hands fell from the wheel as the two came to a full stop.

"Charioteer, please take over driving for me," Sonya said simply, her voice thick. The car began moving and the chairs turned so Lucy and Sonya faced the dogs, the middle console between them turning into an extra seat. "Lucy, tell me the truth, do they break into your home?"

"Um…Yea? Why?" Sonya reached over and hugged the other Celestial Wizard tightly. "Huh?"

"Them being your team doesn't excuse that kind of thing at all. I'm sorry that's happened to you. Does anyone else know about it?"

"I don't think so," Lucy said as the other Wizard pulled back. "But really I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be. If the stories I heard before you guys came back are true then we have some serious problems in this Guild and they need to be resolved ASAP."

"What stories?"

"Erza's hypocrisy, Juvia's obsession with Gray, Gray and Natsu's fighting, Natsu's lack of care for anything or anyone around him when he'd fighting, that kind of thing. It honestly makes me embarrassed to say that I looked up to Erza when I was little."

"Wait a second, Erza's hypocrisy?" Lucy asked.

"Her constantly saying that there shouldn't be fighting in the Guild yet her inability to stay out of fights in the Hall. On top of that, the way she deals with Natsu and Gray's fighting is super unhealthy for all three of them. And with what you're telling me, there's a ton of other issues she turns a completely blind eye to. For example, if she's really all for protecting people in the Guild, then why is she allowing Natsu and Gray to continuously break into your home. Do you know how many people are attacked and or killed every year by break-ins?"

"Quite a few, I know. I've read the statistics. But really, the guys won't hurt me."

"But them being in your home when you're not there gets you used to the idea that if there's noises in your home, it's a teammate. I don't mean to insult you, I'm just saying they're conditioning you to be used to them in your home without you being there." Lucy let out a little chuckle. She couldn't really argue with Sonya's point. As an heiress, she'd studied quite a bit about psychology, including conditioning.

"You've got a point," Lucy admitted. "But still, they're my best friends." Sonya bit on her lip. "Is there more?"

"Yes. I'm sorry but what you're telling me is honestly making me worry for you. And I fear that you might not be understanding exactly what they're doing to you unless someone else tells you because you've been allowing this to happen regularly."

"What are you talking about?"

"I think the reason you continuously allow your team to do as they've been doing is because they're the only team you've gone on jobs with." Lucy bit her tongue. She saw a small light of remorse in Sonya's eyes so she decided she'd let Sonya say what she needed then respond. "I was in charge of organizing paperwork so as much as I hate to poke around in business that is not mine, I know you've had issues with your father. And considering that and how you've only done jobs with Natsu and his team, I must say I think you're afraid of upsetting them because aside from Levy, you're scared of being alone. That if you reinforce your boundaries, you'll upset them and they'll leave you. I'm sorry if what I'm saying is hurtful or makes you angry but I feel it must be said."

"I must admit, what you're saying does make me a little upset, at the very least." Lucy sat up straight, her shoulders tense. "But I think you may have a point. I've only really gone on jobs with Natsu and them and not with other teams. I may have worked with Cana during the S-Class Trials but aside from her, Mira, Levy and Natsu's team, I haven't really worked with other people in the Guild which is something I should do. So for right now, let's move on from this topic and focus on our job please. I need time to think." Sonya nodded.

"Alright. Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"How did you meet all your spirits?" Lucy asked. The other Wizard giggled.

"Well. My papa was very influential in the Celestial Spirit World. When he was raising me, he'd have various uncontracted Spirits help me with training, collecting knowledge, even my periods once they started. Some of them chose to be contracted to me but others couldn't. Like how Ma-Pi and Cecil couldn't be with me anymore when they were contracted."

"Ma-Pi and Cecil?" Lucy asked.

"The Spirit of Pisces' true form is that of a mother and son. The mother became my maternal figure and her son became like a big brother to me. It felt odd calling her Mama so I called her Ma-Pi for Mama Pisces. Her son's name is too complicated for me to pronounce and I don't think I can honestly make half the sounds of it, so he told me to call him Cecil."

"Okay. But why didn't they contract to you?"

"Because I didn't have their Key. And Celestial Law forbids them from telling me where it is. So someone else contracted them. I just hope that person is kind to them."

"I'm so sorry," Lucy said, placing a hand on Sonya's shoulder. "I'm constantly saying that I think of my spirits as family but you literally were raised by them. They literally are your family." Sonya smiled gently.

"My papa taught me that everyone and everything is family. So I'm fine." Lucy smiled softly.

"What else did your papa teach you? Like how does that work?"

"Well, he taught me to think of the earth as if it was my grandmother and everything on her, as well as every person on her, is family. She's everyone's grandmother and everything's grandmother. Every tree, rock, animal and person is related to Grandmother Earth as Papa would say, and as a result deserves equal amounts of respect. And while we've been supplied with a generous bounty while we live on Grandmother Earth, we should only ever take what we need and never be wasteful." Lucy nodded.

"You're not gonna go all conversion-happy-harpy on me are ya?" Lucy asked, only partially joking.

"If you have questions about how I think of things or anything like that, I'll answer them as completely and clearly as possible but I will also be blunt. I will not sugarcoat things like some others might. I understand that there are people who will not see things the same way I do or even see what I do as savage behavior. But that does not mean I will try to force my ideas on someone else. Let's take a quick example for a moment. If you were to ask me to teach you how to think as I do, I would try and teach you. If you went through with it completely, it would delight me. But if you came to the conclusion that my way of thinking does not fit the way you think, then there wouldn't really be a lot I can do about it, so I would let it be. But since no one else has asked me to teach them to think the way I do, I don't really talk about how I think of things unless someone asks me. Understand?" Lucy nodded.

"Thanks for telling me about this." Sonya smiled.

"It's my pleasure Lucy." The car came to a stop and Sonya unbuckled her seatbelt. "Looks like we're here. Ready to start working?" she asked as she opened the door and hopped down.

"Yep!"

"Alright. I'm gonna go talk to the landowner for a second. Stay in the car," the caramel-haired woman instructed. Lucy shut the door to keep out the cold and sat back in her seat. Flora and Rain were playing with each other, nipping at each other's paws and shoulders. Snowbelle came up to her and placed her head on Lucy's lap, begging to be petted. Summer was sitting at attention, watching Lucy carefully. The blonde smiled and began petting Snowbelle, who began wagging her tail at a frantic pace.

As Lucy settled into the monotone task of petting the Husky, her mind began to wander to what Sonya had said and the actions of her teammates. She could remember how annoyed she'd been when she'd come home and find members or the whole of her team in her home, helping themselves to her food, looking through her underwear drawer, and Natsu and Gray had both broke out in a brawl both in her apartment and just outside the building, causing damage to her furniture or the building itself that she had to pay for. Then there were the number of times she'd come home to find Natsu and Happy had cleaned out her cupboards and refrigerator, meaning she'd need to go out and buy even more food just to feed herself at least one meal a day, or she'd have to eat at the Guild Hall. Between paying for damages to her apartment, furniture and new food, Lucy could barely afford her rent month after month. She'd lost count of the number of times she'd taken multiple jobs and barely made it back home in time to be considered on time with her rent so she wouldn't need to pay a fee for it being late.

Natsu, Erza and Gray were the three people closest to her in the Guild. But even if she ignored all the stuff about her, there were still huge, glaring issues that arose with the three. She couldn't begin to recall the number of jobs they'd been on where their pay had been docked because Natsu, Erza, Gray or a combination of the three hadn't been able to control themselves and destroyed public and private property. A few times the pay hadn't been enough and they'd needed to take another job in order to cover the damages.

Even outside of the jobs, the three had big issues that seemed to slap Lucy in the face as she thought of them. Natsu always blasted through a problem with no regard for what he destroyed or who he hurt in the process. Never once had he calmed down enough to try and formulate a plan of attack against a stronger opponent. Erza tended to go completely overboard when it came to her cake and then there was the issue of her using violence to attempt to stop fights between Gray and Natsu. Her questioning method from back on their first job together, her tendency to all but smash people's heads into her armored chest and then her poking around in Lucy's private affairs made the blonde's stomach churn. Gray was constantly stripping down naked in public and relied on others to collect his clothes for later and he also knew about Juvia's obsession with him but insisted on not doing anything about it in order to stop any misunderstandings.

As much as Lucy hated to say it, Sonya had a good point. The very reason she'd left her father was because he'd tried to force her into things she didn't want, dragging her around like some doll to be sold to the highest bidder. Her team were constantly threatening her safety, the roof over her head, the clothes on her back and the food in her stomach. Her father had given her all of that, plus privacy, which her team denied her.

Happy was one of the most blatant of the team to disrespect her. His comments on her weight, intelligence, and looks constantly hurt her pride. She'd grown up being given the very best. Her diet had been designed to keep her healthy and thin enough to be squeezed into a corset. The minute she'd hit puberty, her father had invested in the best skin care products, hair treatments, make-up and even vitamin supplements in order to ensure she'd be desirable enough, at the very least, to cause as many suitors as possible to dig deep into their finances to be the highest bidder.

Her parents had been entrepreneurs, leaving the Love and Lucky Guild when her mother was pregnant with her, and in a few short years made enough to afford the opulent lifestyle she'd grown up in. Her tutors were all the best in their professions and none of them had been the type to coddle her. All of them were strict in their lessons and if she made mistakes in her work, she'd be made to do it again and again until she did it perfectly. Everything she'd learned had been to ensure that she could handle every aspect of running the Heartfilia railways, run a house the size of the Heartfilia manor, keep track of finances and economics, understand legal terms of contracts that only offered loopholes to the ones who could actually understand the jargon, and even accurately predict economic trends based on political endeavors and investments made by herself and other business owners.

But this blue cat would constantly insult her and Natsu would just laugh. No one on her team really stood up for her against his taunts. Even Erza would ignore her in favor of a slice of pastry and strawberries.

Lucy bit her lip as her eyes began to sting and her vision blurred for a second. She heard a small whine next to her before tears began streaming down her cheeks. Lucy bit hard into her lip, trying to keep from crying as the mental evidence piled up. Had Lucy been in Sonya's shoes, she'd want to say the same things but likely would've been terrified of the person she was talking to completely hating her for saying them. Jude Heartfilia's refusal to give her love and attention and the sudden and quick acceptance into a group by Team Natsu on top of Lucy's quick acceptance of everyone and everything around her all cumulated in a bad situation that was just begging to implode.

She didn't want to hurt anyone but Lucy still needed to take care of herself and not worry as much as she had been since she joined. She needed to be able to know she'd be able to eat, pay her rent, and not needing to replace every single thing she owned in her wardrobe. Then there was the massive property damage caused by Team Natsu that she'd get looped into simply because she was there with them.

A pair of rough tongues began licking at her cheeks. Lucy blinked quickly to clear her vision. Summer and Snowbelle were licking at her cheeks, offering something like comfort to soothe her crying. She let out a little giggle and began petting the dogs in thanks.

Suddenly the car lurched some. Flora and Rain stopped playing and Summer snarled at the door. The car lurched a few more times before the door opened again and Sonya climbed in.

"Sorry about that," she said as she shut the door and took her seat. "The owner was waiting right by a trailer of wood so we hitched it up."

"And now we just need to drop it off?"

"Yep. We literally unhitch the trailer at the Guild and then go inside to collect the reward," Sonya explained as she buckled her seatbelt. "Love and Lucky Guild hall in Acalypha please." The engine revved twice before the car began to move. Sonya smiled and turned to Lucy. Immediately her smile vanished and she moved closer, taking a gentle hold on Lucy's arms. "What's wrong? You look like you've been crying."

"I was thinking about what you said. In all honesty, I can't believe I didn't see it myself." Sonya pulled the blonde in for a hug.

"It's okay. Sometimes we all just need someone else to point something out to us before we really see it ourselves."

"But honestly, if I knew someone else who was going through these kinds of things, I'd tell them exactly what you told me. Or at least I'd want to. My biggest fear would be that they'd leave and hate me for what I'd said. How did you get the kind of courage to tell me flat out?"

"In all honesty I was fearful of the same thing. While I was hitching up the trailer, I was honestly expecting you to leave. I was surprised to find you still in here." Lucy pulled back and smiled.

"Thank you for having the courage to tell me what you thought," she said gently. Sonya nodded.

"So then. What else shall we talk about?" Sonya asked. Lucy wiped at her cheeks and smiled as she continued to pet Snowbelle.

"Well, I learned that Bisca and Alzack had a daughter, Azuka, right?"

"Yep."

"Can you tell me about her?" Sonya smiled as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a wallet. She opened it and slipped out a picture of the little girl.

"I sure can. I babysit her a lot. Here she is." Sonya handed over the picture. The tiny girl had a long braid of black hair like her father but everything else looked like her mother. She wore a pretty cowgirl hat, brown boots, a khaki skort, a pick t-shirt and a tan vest over it. The girl was seated on Sonya's shoulders and both girls were smiling and laughing as they played.

"Aw! She's so cute!" Lucy cooed.

"Yea. I'd honestly do just about anything for that girl. She loves pretending she's a cowgirl so more often than not, the Guild members get to play the role of her horsie." Sonya burst into giggles at that.

"That's adorable! Think she'll be at the Guild when we get back?"

"If we get back in time, probably," Sonya said.

"Got any stories about her?" Sonya smiled.

"Plenty."

 

The rest of the ride was full of Sonya's retelling of story after adorable story of the sweet child who always managed to brighten any day for the Guild. The girls barely even felt when the car came to a stop again as they giggled at the most recent story.

Lucy held onto her sides and wiped at the corners of her eyes as tears began to gather there.

"Are you serious? That's how he lost all his hair?"

"Yea. I'm fairly certain Wakaba's wife wouldn't have let him out of the house like that unless it got cut." The girls burst into another round of giggles. As the laughing died down, the engine revved again and Sonya turned. "Oh! We're here already." The girls unbuckled themselves and got out of the car. Snow was falling around them as Sonya went to the back and unhitched the trailer of wood.

"What can I do to help?" Lucy asked.

"Head on inside with the request. I'll be inside in a second." Lucy nodded and hurried to the door.

Inside the Love and Lucky Guild Hall, tellers were sitting in booths, some talking with clients, potential business owners, and the like while others were sipping at steaming cups of coffee. Lucy looked around but couldn't see anyone even remotely similar to her father. She wasn't expecting him to look the exact same as he did when she last saw him at their home, or even the last time she saw him in person just outside this very Guild, but she was hoping he'd look something like she remembered.

"Excuse me ma'am, can I help you?" a teller lady asked as she came up to Lucy.

"Oh um. My name's Lucy Heartfilia. My friend, Sonya Vern, and I just finished this job and I was wondering who I talk to?" Lucy asked as she handed over the job. The lady looked it over for a moment.

"Oh I see. You and your friend will want to talk with John. His office is upstairs. I'll call him for you."

"Thank you ma'am," Lucy said as the lady went to her booth and dialed up the man. Sonya came inside at that point, brushing snow off her coat as she came up to Lucy.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I don't see my dad anywhere." Sonya looked around.

"Maybe he's got the day off or he's out sick. Let's ask someone."

"A teller is calling the man responsible for paying us. How about we ask him in his office?" Lucy suggested. Sonya nodded.

"Or maybe his office is upstairs too," the woman suggested.

"Maybe. Dad always was a go-getter." The teller returned to the girls smiling.

"John will be down in a second. Here's your flier back."

"Thank you ma'am," Sonya said as she took the job back.

"My pleasure. Thank you ladies for the wood." After the teller left, the girls stood around for a couple minutes before a tall gentleman with dark brown hair and a graying goatee in a brown suit came over to them.

"Good afternoon ladies. My name is John McArthur. If you'll follow me, we can get your payment together." Sonya nodded and the three made their way up the stairs. John's office was the very first one they came to so Lucy wasn't able to see the other nameplates on the hall. In comparison to other offices Lucy had seen in her life, John's was actually fairly small. Only enough space for a desk, a couple chairs and a bookshelf. John began shuffling through his desk before he produced a book of records. He quickly jotted down the information and then pulled out the bills to pay the girls. "Thank you very much ladies. We truly appreciate your work."

"Thank you sir," Lucy said as she took a step forward. "I have a question for you though." John nodded and folded his hands together. "My name is Lucy Heartfilia and my father worked here last time I checked. I was wondering if he was here or if you have his home address?" John's eyes went wide and her pressed his hands to his mouth thoughtfully.

"Is something wrong?" Sonya asked.

"So you're Jude's daughter?" Lucy nodded. "Then I'm terribly sorry to inform you but Jude passed away. Little over a month ago, he came down with a terrible case of pneumonia and it was just too much for him." Lucy fell back into one of the available chairs. Sonya placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to offer some form of comfort.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: Alright! Wow. That was upsetting to write. Trust me, it hurts. I'm remembering how I felt when my grandmother died. If you think that's rough, try going through the funeral when you're named after her. Literally letter-for-letter, named after her. It's tough. 
> 
> But on another note, I really hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm gonna be getting pretty busy once this is posted. So please show your support by leaving a kudos, bookmarking or leaving a comment!


	7. Chapter 7

The ride back to the Guild was silent. Sonya had no words to offer for the blonde beside her. She couldn't remember any father before her papa. Lucy had come so close to seeing her father again, to forming a good bond with him, only to discover she was too late. Through no fault of her own, merely fate deciding to be cruel.

Summer would lick at Lucy's hands during the ride and every now and again, the blonde would pet the beast. Aside from that, Lucy showed no sign of being aware the car was even moving. Once outside the Guild's gate, Sonya turned off the car and tapped the key on her gloved palm.

Lucy let herself out of the car and headed inside. Summer got up on the seat and looked over at Sonya. The Wizard looked at her Spirit, their eyes locking for a long moment, almost as if they were having some form of telepathic conversation. After a couple minutes, Sonya smirked and turned on the car again before driving back into town. She came to a stop outside a grocery store and quickly hopped out of the vehicle before sending her Spirits back to the Celestial Spirit Realm and heading inside.

She grabbed a basket and began looking through to aisles, humming a little ditty to herself. The caramel-haired woman rounded a corner and bumped right into another shopper.

"So sorry about that," she said quickly before looking at the person she'd run into…and having to look way up. "Laxus?"

"Hey," he said, looking her over. "Is that all stuff you made?" Sonya nodded.

"What do you think?" Laxus stared at her hat for a few more seconds before releasing a sigh.

"In all honesty, if there was a great distance between us, I'd mistake you for a bear." Sonya giggled a little.

"What ya doing here?" she asked.

"Well, aside from some stuff my housekeeper prepared, I'm completely out of food. So I figured I'd at least get some stuff in my kitchen. You?" Sonya bit her lip.

"It's not really my place to discuss the particulars. But Lucy and I went on a job today and learned some news that saddened her. So I thought that I'd get some stuff to help her cheer up a little."

"You don't know what she likes though," he pointed out.

"True. But I figured it would be the best way to show her that while I can't really offer any advice, I can be there for her."

"I see. Well, don't know how helpful this will be, but before I was banished, I'd see Lucy ordering strawberry milkshakes at the bar constantly. So maybe look for that kind of thing." Sonya nodded slowly, a smirk stretching across her lips.

"You sure you wanna tell me that? I might just steal her away from ya."

"Excuse me?" Laxus asked, his right arm tensing. Sonya chuckled.

"I'm teasing ya big guy, like you were teasing Lucy last night with all that Blondie nonsense." Laxus rolled his eyes and began walking off.

"Whatever upset Lucy, tell her I feel bad for her. And whatever you two end up doing tonight, don't stay up too late. Gramps decided he'd take care of the meeting on his own. So we'll meet up once the Guild hall opens, get a job and head out. Any ideas on something I should look out for when I look through the jobs?"

"Any kind of Celestial Spirit Keys in the reward." Laxus nodded.

"I'll look through the requests tonight after I wrap up here," he said as he started walking away.

"Thanks. And since one good turn deserves another. If you're planning on eating red meat, I'd avoid foods with gluten in them. In my experience, the juices from red meat and gluten mixing in my stomach cause that motion-sickness issue. Don't know if it'll work for you but might be worth a shot."

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Sonya nodded and headed off down the aisle. As she went through the rows of produce, she amassed a small collection of chocolates, strawberries and two cartons of ice cream before checking out and heading back home.

"Welcome back!" Kinana cheerfully called from the bar as Sonya came in through the door. The caramel-haired woman smiled and gave the bartender a hug.

"Good to be back, Kina. Where's Lucy?" Kinana's smile softened some before she looked over at the stairs. Sonya nodded and headed up to their bedroom. "Lucy?" she called as she entered. The blonde was seated on the couch, staring at her hands in her lap. She slowly looked up at Sonya.

"Did you go somewhere? You were gone a while." Sonya nodded.

"Yea. I did. I have a question for you."

"Yes?" the blonde asked as Sonya came over to stand in front of her.

"If I were to draw a hot bath to help you relax, would that help at all?" Lucy nodded.

"Yea, I think so." Sonya grabbed the girl's hand and lead her into the infirmary and then into the attached bathroom. The white-tile floor was cool under Lucy's feet as Sonya lead her to a tub roughly the same size as the one back at her apartment and began filling it with water.

"Strawberry or chocolate?" Sonya asked suddenly. Lucy jumped slightly.

"Uh…strawberry." Sonya pulled the carton of strawberry ice cream from the bag and handed it and a pink plastic spoon to Lucy before heading to the door. "Sonya?" The caramel-haired girl turned with a hum. "Sorry if this is weird but…could you stay with me please?"

"Of course. You get in and I'll be back in a sec okay?" Lucy nodded and set the ice cream on the ledge next to the tub before stripping out of her clothes. She pinned up her hair and slipped into the steaming water, a part of her reveling in the sharp feeling that shot through her nerves as the hot water covered her skin. She sunk into the warm embrace until her nose was just above the water. She gingerly began eating the ice cream in the tub. Her mind was a dazed flurry of thoughts. Ideas were whirling in her head so quickly she couldn't even register them, leaving her blank in regards to what to say or do at the moment.

Her history with her father kept playing in her mind over and over like a movie in her head. So many missed opportunities, chances she could've taken to go see him, or even write a letter to him. She hadn't even said good-bye to him before she left for Tenrou Island.

"Twinkle twinkle little star." Lucy jumped again and turned to see Sonya seated next to the tub. The caramel-haired woman smiled gently. "You were staring off into space," she explained. Lucy smiled a little and turned back to the already half-eaten ice cream tub, scooping a spoonful of the pink treat into her mouth.

"This is good." Sonya smiled.

"You can thank Laxus for that."

"Laxus?" Sonya nodded and placed her arm on the edge of the tub before laying her head on her bicep.

"He told me he'd seen you order strawberry milkshakes at the bar ever now and again before he was banished. I honestly have no idea how to help you through this Lucy. And I hate feeling completely useless. So please, if there's anything I can do to help you, let me know." Lucy nodded. "Aside from that, we Celestial Wizards need to look out for each other."

"Thank you Sonya," Lucy said as she reclined her head on the rim of the tub. "I guess the big thing is that…even though I'm sad and I miss him…I just can't cry. I know he and I had a pretty shaky relationship at best, but still. Does this mean he meant nothing to me in the end?"

"I don't think so. I think that this is just how you're grieving. Whether you cry or not doesn't say anything on how much he meant to you. After all, I didn't cry when my papa vanished. I know they're two different things but still, they left us." Lucy nodded and looked down at the almost empty tub before dropping her spoon back into it. "You done with that?"

"Yea." Sonya held out her hand and Lucy handed over the tub. The other Wizard scraped up a spoonful for herself from the sides before setting the carton off to the side.

"So. What do you want to do now? Stay in here and soak? Get dressed and talk?" she asked. Lucy shrugged.

"I liked listening to you sing. My mama used to sing that song to me." Sonya smiled before reaching over to brush Lucy's bangs back from her face.

"Ma-Pi sang it to me as well. As did Leona and Papa. Would you like to hear it again?" Lucy nodded and laid back against the rim as Sonya sang gently, her voice filling the bathroom. Lucy closed her eyes to enjoy the sound.

Round after round of the song began to mix into each other as Lucy's mind wandered to her memories of her mother singing the very same song to her as a child. She could almost feel the silken nightgown her mother would wear wrapping her in a gentle hold, Sonya's calloused fingers and short-trimmed nails became soft, delicate digits with well-manicured, long nails that tickled as they brushed over her forehead and combed through her bangs.

She opened her eyes, only to see her mother looking down at her, smiling but her lips were moving. However, they weren't moving in the same pattern as the song at all. Voices and words became a massive barrage of sound in her mind.

Lucy's eyes snapped open and for a moment, she couldn't place where she was. But a few breaths helped her to relax and remember the bed she was in was the same one she'd slept in the night before. She'd even been dressed in the same nightgown.

As she stared up at the ceiling, she began piecing together what had happened. She'd likely fallen asleep in the bath and Sonya had dried her off, dressed her and put her in the bed.

It was dark outside. So she'd probably been asleep for a while. But in all honesty, Lucy couldn't bring herself to care about the time. Her chest, her limbs, her entire body felt heavy, almost like her bones had been replaced with lead and her blood with tar pitch. Every muscle felt like if she moved it would hurt, despite there not being any bruises or physical injury.

The door creaked open and Lucy slowly turned towards it as Sonya came in, toweling off her long hair, dressed in her buckskin nightgown. The bright blue eyes looked over at Lucy and smiled sadly.

"Feeling any better?" she asked.

"I don't know," Lucy admitted as the other Wizard came over and sat down next to her on the bed. "In all honesty, everything just feels heavy." Sonya reached over and placed the back of her hand on Lucy's forehead for a moment before feeling her cheeks.

"Well, you don't feel warm. When you suddenly fell asleep I got worried in all honesty."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to." Sonya smiled and shook her head.

"Don't worry about it. I think it was honestly just grief and all that sugar you'd eaten." Lucy rubbed her belly with a groan. "What's wrong? Do you feel sick?"

"No. It's just that I know that ice cream is gonna double my waistline by tomorrow," the blonde groaned as she rolled onto her side, closer to Sonya.

"Well good thing we're going on a job with Laxus then, right?" Lucy couldn't help a small smile forming on her lips as Sonya started using her fingers to comb through the blonde tresses. Three taps on the door was all the warning the girls got before Laxus called from the other side, "Is everyone descent?"

"Yes!" Sonya called. The door creaked open again and the hulking male entered the room with a handful of papers. "Hey there."

"Hey girls. Everyone alright?" the male asked, looking directly at Lucy.

"Yea. Lil' Miss Lucy's just worried about her waistline because she ate a tub of ice cream earlier." Laxus' eyebrows shot up as he looked back from Sonya to Lucy as she curled up in slight shame.

"Look Blondie, you're as freaking tiny as you should be. I am not exaggerating when I say that if I wanted to, I could snap your wrist with just as much effort as would be required for snapping a twig." Lucy shot an incredulous look at the other blonde as Sonya shifted the two girls so Lucy's head lay in her lap and Sonya herself sat on the bed.

"Anything else you want to say? Or a non-threatening point you wanna reach?" she said, sarcasm practically dripping from each of her words.

"Well…What I mean is…Who told you that you needed to watch your weight?" Laxus asked.

"My father had his expectations…as did any man I met growing up, Happy keeps saying I'm really heavy. And with these things, I don't exactly blame him," she said pointing at her breasts. Laxus looked away for a moment, the tips of his ears turning pink.

"You're blushing," Sonya teased in a sing-song voice, earning her a glare from the man. She simply burst into more giggles, completely unafraid of the Lightning Dragon Slayer's potential retaliation. Lucy looked between Sonya and Laxus, half afraid, half excited to see how the situation would unfold.

The writer inside her was thinking of a dozen ways this could go, ranging from Laxus getting angry and storming off to a rather naughty smuty idea. Lucy felt her own cheeks go hot at that one.

Laxus came over and handed the papers to Sonya, who began looking them over.

"You sure you're alright Blondie?" he asked before feeling Lucy's cheeks himself.

"Fine, just fine!" Lucy said quickly, waving Laxus' hand away. None of her mental situations involved him being gentle like he'd just been. Maybe his team saw it often enough to figure it was normal, but to Lucy, the other blonde had always been gruff, even arrogant and borderline cruel on a number of occasions. "And you're blonde too! Blondie sounds stupid coming from you!" she snapped. Sonya burst into another round of giggles.

"Whatever. Back to what I was saying, you're going off of the expectations of men who've had iron bars so far up their asses it replaced their spines, and a cat raised by Natsu. In case you haven't noticed, Natsu isn't the sharpest tool in the shed. It honestly makes sense that his cat would be equally moronic." Lucy crossed her arms over her chest and pouted slightly. The male blonde had a point and she couldn't really argue it. Sure Happy tended to act like he knew a lot but there were plenty of times he was just as clueless as Natsu. Sonya began brushing her fingers through Lucy's hair again.

"If you're really that concerned about what you're eating I can help you once we get back from our job. If you ask me though it never is a bad thing to have a day where you're not 100% and just need to treat yourself to something you don't usually have," Sonya said. "So long as you take care of your body with proper exercise, good nutrition and healthy interpersonal relationships, you should be fine to have a cheat day every now and again." Lucy smiled gently at the other Celestial Wizard.

"Really?"

"Absolutely. You'd actually be surprised how your diet can affect you. Maybe after we get back I can start you guys on the diet I tried. But I'm gonna warn you, it'll be rough. The first ten days especially because you'll be craving to foods you're used to but once it's done, you'll thank yourself."

"What exactly was this diet you tried?" Lucy asked.

"Nothing but meat, fruits and vegetables for thirty days, then slowly bringing foods back into your diet to see their effects on your system. Like I found out I was allergic to the reaction of gluten and red meat juice in my system. It caused bad motion sickness. Kinana tried it when I did and we found out she's allergic to peanuts. Apparently they cause joint pain."

"Seriously? I thought peanut allergies caused breathing problems," Laxus said.

"The severe ones do. But Kinana's allergy is extremely mild. And you'd really be surprised how mild some of your own allergies are and how they affect your body. How does this one look to you?" Sonya asked as she handed a flier to Lucy. Lucy looked the page over. "Stop the Mad Man" was written at the top and the dark image of a man holding a staff over his head.

"Let's see. Mad man threatening our town…Controls a mad beast…And the reward includes the town's collection of Celestial Keys?!" Laxus smirked and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Thought you might like that one."

"Think we could handle it?" Lucy asked.

"More than likely. I mean, I could probably knock him out with a lightning bolt, and then we hand him over to the Rune Knights. We should be able to handle that."

"What about the beast? Are there any details?" Sonya asked.

"Only that it looks like a lion," Lucy responded. The other lady nodded.

"I think we can handle it. You wanna take it?" she asked. Lucy nodded and handed the flier to Laxus.

"Alright. I'll go inform Kinana."

"Someone say my name?" Kinana asked as she came in, carrying a tray laden with a steaming bowl of soup and a glass of orange juice.

"Yea. Laxus was gonna tell you the job we're gonna go on," Sonya said as she got up and took the tray off the purplette's hands and bringing it over to Lucy as Laxus handed the flier to the bartender. She looked it over and nodded.

"Alright. I'll call the client and inform them. Should I ask for anything in advance?" she asked.

"Any information they can give on this man or his beast. The last time either of them were seen or heard from, the content of the threats and the like." Kinana nodded.

"I'll do that. Oh and Lucy. Your landlady came by to drop off your mail and asked me to give you a message. Apparently she'd received a letter from your father's lawyer this morning containing enough money to make up for what you owe and pay for the next 3 months. There's a few packages in your apartment and the envelope on the tray." Sonya placed the tray next to Lucy and in the upper right corner was a white envelope. "She said that all the packages arrived consistently on July 1st every year and that envelope arrived this morning." Lucy's hand clapped over her mouth in surprise.

"Lucy?" Sonya asked as tears began welling in the blonde's brown eyes.

"July 1st is my birthday," she said. "When I was little, there was one year he entirely forgot about it. The thing was, that had been the year my mom died."

"Are you serious?" Sonya asked.

"I can't believe he actually remembered." Sonya bit her lip as Lucy slowly started opening the envelope. Kinana slipped out into the hallway as Lucy began reading over the letter. Upon reaching the bottom of the page, tears began streaming down Lucy's cheeks and dripping off her nose.

"Lucy?" Sonya moved the tray onto the nightstand and took the letter from Lucy's hands and looked it over herself. At the bottom, now marred by teardrop splatters, Jude Heartfilia had told his daughter that he loved her and hoped she would always know that. Sonya set the letter to the side and hugged Lucy tightly as she cried.

"Good-bye Daddy," the blonde whispered. "I love you too." Sonya looked up at Laxus and gestured with her head for him to come over. For a moment, he was confused.

What good would come from him doing anything at all? Last time he checked, he and Lucy weren't even on last-name basis. He could barely think of himself as an associate of hers. Before he'd gone to Tenrou, he could barely remember her name. Had he been asked, he probably would've been just as likely to call her Lacy or something along those lines as he would to call her Lucy.

Sonya glared and repeated the gesture with a little more force. Laxus raised his hands in surrender before coming over to the bed and placing a hand on the back of Lucy's head. Sonya reached up and grabbed his wrist, pulling him down to sit on the bed behind the sobbing blonde.

"It might not be a lot Lucy, but we're here for ya," Sonya said, shooting Laxus a small smile. Lucy's sobbing slowly turned to hiccups.

"Thanks Sonya, Laxus," she managed as she wiped at her cheeks. "That means a lot."

"So it looks like you're good on rent for a good long while. You still feel like going on that job tomorrow?" Sonya asked. Lucy nodded.

"Yea. It's like you said Sonya, just being with Team Natsu isn't good for me and I should try working with other teams in order to see what works best with my magic. And I should try to get to know my other Guild mates better. Especially since I probably didn't before all this happened." Lucy looked over at Laxus as she said the last part, her pink-lined eyes reflecting a kind of remorse he usually wouldn't associate with the Celestial Wizard.

"Sounds good to me," Sonya said with a nod. "So that means we should probably get some rest."

"Good point," Laxus agreed as he stood up. Lucy groaned slightly. "What?"

"Unless I need to go back to my apartment tonight. Or else it'll be the third day in a row I've worn the same outfit and I don't have any other aside from what's in my backpack from Tenrou Island. And that's a bunch of shorts and t-shirts."

"I'll let you borrow a pair of my jeans tomorrow, okay?" Sonya said. "Kinana had your clothes from Tenrou washed and dried while we were gone today so you can wear a shirt from that. So don't worry about it." Lucy sighed.

"If you say so."

"I insist on it," the caramel-haired wizard said.

"But we might end up there for a few days so we'll need a little more than that," Laxus said pointedly.

"So then. How about we meet up here when the Hall opens and then we'll be on our way? We'll stop by Lucy's place so she can get her stuff," Sonya suggested.

"I'm good with that," Lucy said.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Laxus agreed before he got up and headed for the door.

"Good night," Sonya said with a wave.

"Good night Laxus," Lucy called. Laxus paused at the door and turned back to Lucy, sending her a quizzical look. "Hm?"

"Good night girls," he said before leaving the room and beginning to close the door behind him. "Sorry for your loss Lucy." Lucy's eyes widened as the door clicked shut. Sonya pressed the back of her hand to her lips and giggled slightly.

"You get that boy all flustered."

"Wha?!" Lucy cried as her face went red. Sonya giggled again.

"The fact you don't even realize it, I'm sorry but it makes it both cuter and funnier."

"Oh come off it Sonya. I get enough from Mirajane trying to match me up with anything with a penis and a pulse under 25 in the Guild."

"Mirajane has her own issues. But trust me. Ma-Pi, Cecil, Papa and Leona have all told me what to look out for when a guy likes someone. Plus you were still sleeping when Mira got drunk earlier tonight. She happened to mention that there was one time Laxus at least showed an interest in you. And it was during the Phantom Lord incident from what I hear." Lucy's eyes widened as Sonya braided her hair for bed.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes. However, it's none of my business. If you're curious about it, you'll need to talk to him. It's between you and him." Sonya laid back on the bed and pulled the blankets up to her chin.

"Thanks for informing me. But I don't think right now would be a good time for me to start looking into that. I'm just not in the best place emotionally right now." Sonya nodded.

"Good choice," she said as Lucy laid down next to her. The caramel-haired Wizard reached over to the nightstand and summoned her canines again to snuggle them. Snowbelle came up behind Lucy and laid out so that the blonde had to scooch into the mattress to ensure she wouldn't roll over during the night and knock the Spirit off the bed. Summer did the same as Summer laid behind her. Flora and Rain curled up at their feet, warming their toes.

"Good night Sonya," Lucy yawned.

"Good night Lucy," Sonya replied before the two closed their eyes and went to sleep.

Summer and Snowbelle remained awake and alert, watching the girls' hands that were barely a hair's breadth away from each other. Lucy shifted slightly in her sleep and a spark appeared between their hands for a second. Both girls' faces flinched in their sleep, but then became peaceful again. Sonya's fingers stretched some and then relaxed again so that the pads of her fingertips touched Lucy's.

The dogs looked at each other before Summer turned her head to look at the Keys of both girls resting on the nightstand, just next to the tray of uneaten food. Sonya's pouch strings wrapped around Lucy's key ring gently. Snowbelle looked down and licked at the girls' hands for a moment before Summer joined her.

 

Flames licked up the crumbling gray walls of what was once a building. Onlookers cried out in surprise and alarm as they gathered around the disaster. Sounds of the building crumbling echoed in the ears, becoming mixed with the crashes, grunts, and shouts of battle. Animals released panicked sounds and explosions and panicked human screams rang out.

"Don't do it!"

"It's close! So very close! Time ticks forward! On towards inevitable chaos!"

"Big sister."

"I'm so sorry!"

"I can do this!"

"No! Don't!" In the flickering flames, a single deep-violet reptilian eye with a slit-shaped pupil looked back at her.

Sonya's eyes snapped open as she quickly sucked in air and sat up in bed. She looked around the room as she panted. Kinana was in bed, Lucy was still sleeping and Summer was the only one awake. She leapt off the bed and pulled a notebook and pencil out from under the bed. Sonya took the articles from the canine and flipped to an open page to jot down the details she could remember. Once she was done, she looked on previous pages that had similar writings.

Sonya's hands shook as she set the notebook down and Summer laid out over her lap. The wizard began to run her hand over the canine's back in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"Third time this week I've had that dream. It must mean something. I just hope what I was seeing was not the Guild's fate."


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laxus, Sonya and Lucy head to their first job together.

The sun still had yet to rise when Sonya shook Lucy awake as gently as she could. The blonde slowly woke up and looked her fellow Celestial Wizard over. Sonya was dressed in a pair of denim jeans, a plain purple t-shirt, a dark grey jacket and had her fur coat draped over one shoulder. She held a bag in each hand, one being Lucy's mostly empty backpack from Tenrou Island and the other was lightly packed and topped with a rolled-up sleeping mat.

"Come on Lucy. We gotta get ready." The blonde nodded sleepily as she got up and out of the bed. Sonya handed over the backpack. "Your clothes are in there. Hurry and go do your thing. I'll get us some breakfast." Lucy nodded again and headed for the bathroom as Sonya headed downstairs. The blonde went through her morning routine and went downstairs to see Sonya bustling about in the kitchen, putting things in three large black boxes. Once the boxes were full, she stacked them on top of each other and tied it up in a white cloth.

"Sonya? What is that?" she asked as Sonya handed her a small paper bag that had delightful smells rising from it.

"Lunch. That bag is your breakfast. If we don't stop after we leave your apartment we'll be at the town just around noon. You ready to go?" she asked.

"Yep," Lucy chirped quietly. Sonya smiled as she slung her backpack onto her back and handed the massive lunch box to Lucy.

"Let's go," Sonya said, jerking her head towards the door. The two left the building as quietly as they could and Sonya summoned the Charioteer when Laxus' trademark entrance cue of a bolt of lightning and a clap of thunder in the forest. Sonya groaned lightly in exasperation as she helped Lucy get into the car.

Laxus came out of the forest with his trademark coat draped over his shoulders and one arm slung back to hold his pack over his shoulder.

"Morning," he greeted gruffly as he climbed into the car. He landed in the shotgun seat and set his pack at his feet.

"Can you be any louder with your entrances?" Sonya hissed as she got into her seat and set her bag in the backseat with Lucy. Laxus shrugged as Sonya pulled another paper bag from her pack and set it on his leg. "Breakfast," she said before grabbing another bag and setting it in her own lap.

"Thanks," he said as he opened the bag but instead of looking inside at the contents, his eyes were on the rearview mirror where Lucy was seated with Sonya's pack on one side of her and the lunchbox on the other. The blonde female opened up the bag and looked inside.

"Oh Sonya this looks awesome!" Lucy cheered as she reached in and pulled out the food inside.

"Thanks. Although you might want to wait to start eating Lucy. We'll be at your apartment soon." Laxus looked down at the food in his own bag. The food itself was an orange and an apple and a water bottle and the entrée was a small white rectangle. It took a second for him to realize it was a tortilla shell wrapped around what smelled like cooked eggs, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, and cheese. He reached in and pulled it out to look it over.

Sonya gently applied the brakes and came to a stop in front of Lucy's apartment building. The two girls quickly unbuckled and moved to leave the car. Laxus set his breakfast next to his pack and unbuckled as well. As Lucy moved to step over the middle console, her foot slipped and she started falling back. Laxus threw his door open and raised one arm up to catch the smaller female as she sprawled across his lap.

"Thanks. Sorry," Lucy said quickly.

"Don't mention it," he said, a silent sigh of relief escaping him. Had he not opened the door, Lucy would've probably hit her head right on the window. Laxus helped push Lucy towards the driver's seat so she could get out easily. Once she stepped out of the car, Laxus got out himself.

Lucy smiled slightly as she opened her door and slipped into her home.

"Come on in guys," she said as she set her backpack on her pretty pink bedspread and began looking through her clothes for jeans, shirts, sweaters, socks and undergarments.

"This place is so cute," Sonya cooed as the two mages entered. Laxus looked around at the furniture.

"Thanks," Lucy said as she finished packing enough clothes for a few days and began grabbing some of her camping supplies but stopped when she noticed Laxus staring at the tiny fireplace/stove in the corner. "Uhh…Laxus?" she asked.

"Hm?" he said, turning to the other blonde.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Just…where did you get that?" he asked, pointing at it.

"It was here when I moved in. Why?"

"Because I think this was in my house before I renovated it. I sold it when the living room's fireplace was done."

"Seriously?" Lucy asked. Laxus nodded.

"Small world, ain't it?" Sonya said with a smile.

"Yea. But still. That's just…kinda…weird," Lucy said. "Like, it's not a bad thing! Not at all! I love having it around and think it's super cute but it's just weird that it was in your house and then it ended up in mine and we're in the same Guild and-"

"You're rambling Blondie," Laxus said quickly. Lucy immediately scowled at him and grit her teeth.

"And you're annoying, you…you…" Lucy was embarrassed to say it, but the aspiring novelist was at a loss for words that she could throw at the hulking male.

"Ozone breath?" Sonya suggested with a smirk.

"Seriously?" Laxus asked as Lucy started giggling at Sonya's idea. The caramel-haired woman nodded.

"You're gonna annoy her with Blondie, it is only fair she gets a nickname to annoy you with. Mind if I use it too Lucy?"

"Go right ahead," the blonde giggled as she went back to work in packing her camping equipment. Laxus rolled his eyes and leaned against the door jamb, crossing his arms over his chest. It only took a few minutes for Lucy to finish and grab a notebook and pencil on her way out the door. She locked the door and the trio headed to the car. Lucy settled herself in the backseat with her pack next to Sonya's and picked up her bag of breakfast again. Laxus and Sonya slipped into their seats and buckled up.

"Alright Charioteer, can you drive us please?" Sonya said as she opened her bag. The engine revved and turned Laxus and Sonya's seats around to face Lucy, much to Laxus' surprise.

"What the hell?" he hissed.

"What?" Sonya asked.

"What was that?"

"Well, Charioteer is gonna drive us to our job, and in the meantime, we can enjoy each others' company. We got turned around so that we won't cut Lucy out of our talking. And yes, Charioteer can drive on their own but sometimes I find it more fun to practice my driving skills on my own, so Charioteer will allow me to drive instead," Sonya explained as she began eating her breakfast. Lucy giggled a little before also taking a bite.

Laxus shook his head before he also started eating. He was half-expecting it to taste fairly plain, considering he couldn't smell a lot of spices or herbs in the food. But when he bit into the food, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the vegetables tasted different but somehow all worked together. He couldn't really smell spices on the same level that someone like Freed would use but if he concentrated, he definitely could taste them, almost as if the vegetables had been from leftover meals. The bell peppers had a little kick of beef, the mushrooms had a lightly garlic taste and salt and pepper were sprinkled through the eggs, enough so he could taste them but not so much so that it was overpowering for his enhanced senses.

"This is really good Sonya," Lucy said as she took another bite. Sonya giggled.

"Thanks. If you like it, maybe when we get back, I can teach you how to make it yourself." Lucy sighed sadly.

"That would be awesome if I could keep food in my kitchen for more than a couple hours." Laxus froze mid-bite and looked up at Lucy. Sonya sighed.

"Natsu?" Lucy nodded.

"What about him?" Laxus asked, turning to Sonya. The woman looked at him calmly.

"It's not my place to say."

"It's okay Sonya. You can tell him," Lucy said. "After all, we need to trust each other on this job, so if we discuss anything in here, I won't tell anyone what you guys say unless you tell me otherwise." Sonya nodded.

"After all, Celestial Wizards get their power by the promises made between them and their Spirits and so us lying, cheating or breaking promises threatens our abilities. And what you told me about your team is alright to discuss with him?" Lucy nodded and took another bite. "Alright then. Yesterday, Lucy informed me that her team will often break into her home, sleep in her bed, eat all her food, and even cause damage to her property when she's not there."

"What?" the male hissed. "Erza too?" Lucy nodded. "How?"

"I don't know. But even when I lock my door, they get in whenever they want."

"Gosh. I mean, my team can do the same but I personally gave them keys to my place," Laxus said. Lucy shrugged. "How about this? Try changing your locks when you get back home and I'll have Freed come by to write a rune barrier around your apartment so no one gets in while you're not there and your rules get enforced when you are there."

"Could he do that?" Lucy asked. Laxus nodded.

"Evergreen had a situation a couple years after we recruited her so Freed put them up around her apartment." Lucy unbuckled herself and leapt up to throw her arms around Laxus' shoulders and neck. He jumped back in surprise and tensed, his fingers digging into his seat as Lucy squealed quietly enough that his ears didn't ring.

"Sorry about that," she said as she sat back down in her seat. "That would be awesome, thanks." She took another bite of her food as Laxus nodded.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Evergreen does that kind of thing occasionally. I just need some warning next time." Lucy nodded and the trio fell quiet as they finished their breakfasts. "So is that why you're constantly going on jobs?"

"Partially. The other part is that Natsu tends to destroy things everywhere we go and that gets deducted from our reward."

"I can attest to that. Some of the paperwork I had to organize were letters of complaint, damage reports, estimates of repair and all that. In all honesty, over the years since he started doing jobs, Natsu has the biggest stack of complaints leveled against him," Sonya said. Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath. Natsu got on his nerves on a good day to say the least. At most, he was the biggest thorn his side had ever had to endure. Natsu honestly made it almost embarrassing to be called a Dragon Slayer and he and Gajeel got a particularly bad reputation for being destructive because Natsu couldn't control himself, even though he and Gajeel were more restrained in power than the pyromaniac of a wizard.

"Maybe it's a good thing Gramps decided to cancel the S-Class trials. If that pyro became an S-Class Wizard, we'd all be screwed," Laxus muttered. Both girls nodded in agreement.

"Unless Cana or Levy had won," Lucy said pointedly. Laxus gave the other blonde a wide-eyed look of surprise at that.

"Wait a sec, who exactly was participating in the trials?" he asked.

"Um. The choices for it were Freed, Elfman, Cana, Juvia, Levy, Gray, Natsu, and…oh crap! I almost completely forgot the last guy was a Counsel spy!" Lucy groaned. Laxus held up a hand.

"Hold on. First of all, if Freed was selected, why didn't you mention him as a possible winner over Natsu?"

"Because Cana and I beat him and Bickslow."

"What?! How did that happen?"

"Well, Freed couldn't really fight against Cana when she was summoning bikini babes right and left."

"Huh?" Sonya squeaked, her cheeks turning red. Laxus groaned.

"Unbelievable Freed," the blonde male muttered.

"I have a question," Sonya said, raising a hand. "I can understand Gray, Elfman, Juvia, Natsu and Freed, and Cana has been selected for S-Class trials in the past. And I mean no offense to Levy but everyone has told me that Levy wasn't at all confident in herself being an actual contender and believed she and her partner would be eliminated quickly. With that in mind, why wasn't Gajeel chosen, or Lucy for that matter?"

"My first idea would be that Lucy was too new. But Juvia joined after she did," Laxus said thoughtfully. "We'll probably need to ask Gramps."

"It's cause I'm too weak." The two other Wizards looked at Lucy, Sonya with her jaw dropped and Laxus' stiffening.

"Who in the world put that idea in your head?" Sonya asked. Lucy shrugged.

"It's true. I can only summon a few Spirits before I run out of Magic power, if they get beat I'm practically defenseless, and then there's also the fact that I-"

"I'm stopping you right there," Laxus growled, causing both girls to look at him. "First of all, if you're thinking about what I said after the Phantom Lord incident, get it out of your head right now. I think everyone in the Guild can agree I wasn't 100% in my right mind at that time. But even with that in mind I owe you a huge apology for what I said Lucy."

"Oh no Laxus-"

"I was an ass. To say the very least." Lucy held her hand up and he was quiet.

"What's done is done. And like you said, you weren't 100% in your right mind. And I can see you've changed since then. So let's leave the past in the past and just focus on getting to know each other better."

"And even without that Lucy, let me explain something to you," Sonya said, leaning back in her chair some. "Papa explained Celestial Magic like this: You're using your Magic power in order to tear a hole in the fabric of space and time in order to bring a living, breathing creature from one world to another. Celestial Spirits can't breathe our air the same way we can't breathe their air, so more Magic is spent keeping that tear, or 'Gate' as it's called, open and basically creating a bubble of Celestial Realm atmosphere around the creature and keeping the air circulating. Then their abilities in terms of Magic are drawn from the Wizard. So every time you summon a Spirit and let them use one small attack, it's the same as you using that same attack in terms of how much Magic power is used."

"I'm no expert but that sounds like a hell of a lot more than what I do when I use my Dragon Slayer abilities," Laxus added. Sonya nodded.

"You'd be right. Have you ever gone into Dragon Force or used two attributes?"

"Dragon Force, yes. Two attributes, no," the male responded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Imagine a full-powered roar in Dragon Force and the drain it takes on your Magic. That is roughly equivalent to what I do when I summon one of my Silver Keys, and only summon them, not let them fight using magic. But Lucy has mostly Golden Keys, which requires two to three times as much power to open, never mind let them use a magical attack."

"But wait a minute, one of my Spirits can summon himself if he wants," Lucy said quickly.

"Yea. Leo the Lion, the Leader of the Zodiac. This one might get a little more complicated. Basically, there's all different types of Keys outside of the Silver and Gold ones you know and not all of them are Celestial beings. For example, there's the Copper Keys, the Painter's Easel, the Sculptor's Tool, the Altar, the Furnace, the Table Mountain and the Microscope aren't Spirits like normal Spirits are. They're buildings. Then we have the Iron Heroes; Andromedea, Perseus, Hercules, Orion, Indus, Cassiopeia and Cepheus. They're the offspring of the Celestial Spirit King. The Golden Zodiac are the same ones we use in horoscopes and Ophiuchus the Snake Charmer. The Silver Keys are the remaining constellations. Then there's the Ancient Keys. Of those, there's three types: The Ancient Raiders that are Iron with gold and silver weaved in the shaft of the Key, the Ancient Desert which are made from bronze and the Ancient Ruins which are made of gemstones. Those Keys cannot just be found. They reside in the care of the Celestial Spirit King and he determines which, if any, Celestial Wizard gets an Ancient Key and which one. And to summon an Ancient Key taken two or three times as much magic as a Golden Key."

"I've never heard of any of those Keys before," Lucy said.

"It's Celestial Law. The Spirits are not allowed to talk about the Ancient Keys unless asked by their Wizard directly. But Celestial Wizards can discuss them with other Celestial Wizards."

"So anyone with a Key could find out about these Ancient Keys?" Laxus asked.

"Not really. There is fine print to obey as well. While almost any Wizard with enough Magic power can summon and maintain a Spirit in this world, the Ancient Keys can only be given to Wizards whose Magical Draw is to Celestial Magic right from birth. That's when the affinity to Celestial Magic is passed from parent to child. Or something like that. Like your Magical Draw is to Lightning, much like your great-grandfather, and not Giant Magic like your grandfather or Illusion Magic like your father."

"I see." Sonya nodded.

"So in terms of pure Magic power and not in the means of showing it, a Celestial Wizard could and would blast one of the Wizard Saints out of the water in comparison."

"Are you serious?" Lucy asked. Sonya nodded again as she twisted off the cap of her water bottle.

"About a year ago or so, the Magic Counsel and the King passed a law that allowed them to remove the Magic power from an individual they felt was too dangerous. By removing it, the condensed power itself turned into a lacrima. The first person they attempted to use it on was Jellal Fernandez. But it turned out that he'd broken out some time before, and left a false in his place, complete with some Magic power. When they drained the dummy of its Magic, it turned to dust and the lacrima was just big enough to fit this here cap. Then they moved on to other prisoners, as well as people who had a kind of magic that drove them insane or was killing them. Those people are your average, everyday Wizards and in comparison, their lacrimas were the size of a snowflake."

"Seriously?!" Lucy cried. "Jellal was that powerful?!"

"Apparently so. And remember, it was a dummy infused with his Magic, meaning Jellal has even more Magic power than what was shown."

"While this hasn't been done to any Celestial Wizards, just from that, we can consider how powerful a Celestial Wizard could be in comparison based off what I've said."

"That's insane," Laxus breathed.

"Yep. Magic is pretty amazing," Lucy agreed. Sonya nodded.

"There's another thing I was hoping to bring up on this trip of ours," the caramel-haired Wizard said.

"What's up?" Lucy asked as she placed her garbage in the bag.

"I'm somewhat concerned for Wendy."

"Hm? What about her?"

"Wait, who's Wendy?" Laxus asked.

"She's the little blue-haired girl with brown eyes with the white cat. She also happens to be our best healer and a Sky Dragon Slayer," Lucy reported happily.

"She's a what?!" The girls nodded.

"Wendy joined soon after you were banished," Sonya explained. "She was on Tenrou Island with you guys though so how do you not know this?"

"I don't know. She and I didn't really talk. I caught sight of her every now and again hiding behind a tree looking at me but I didn't think anything of it. I certainly didn't know she was a freaking Dragon Slayer!" the male roared.

"Calm down, Ozone Breath. We're not saying you're doing something wrong," Sonya deadpanned. "No need for the volume." Laxus took a deep breath and sat back in his seat.

"Are you seriously sticking with that?" Sonya nodded.

"But getting back on topic, my concern has to do with what Wendy's being exposed to. When I saw her, she'd constantly be talked down to by her cat and that timid behavior that you described Laxus is extremely disturbing to me. On top of that, she's not in school and her file doesn't show much education and training. My main concern is that due to this lack of proper training and education, she might have problems later on in life." Lucy nodded.

"Good point. So do you have a solution in mind?" she asked.

"Partially. I mean, I don't intend to drag you two into this but I was thinking that perhaps the three of us would do well in teaching her. After all, Celestial Magic and Sky Magic are close cousins in the idea of how my papa trained me as a child. And Laxus, as an older, more restrained Dragon Slayer, you'd be a good teacher in terms of Wendy's roars and that kind of thing. And Lucy was raised as an heiress and taught a number of various subjects and I'm sure Freed has studied similar ones. So if we could find a time in order to work together, I think we could all help Wendy gain more confidence in herself as well as more control over her magic so that we don't eventually get a female version of Natsu running around. That is if you guys want to. If not-"

"Of course! I'd love to help!" Lucy cheered with a bright smile.

"Sounds like a plan to me," Laxus said. Sonya smiled.

"Thanks you guys," she said gently.

"No problem. This will be awesome! Maybe Levy and Freed can help us as well," Lucy suggested.

"Yea they could! And maybe Bickslow and Evergreen could help with the confidence-building and training." Lucy burst into giggles.

"Maybe. What do you think Laxus?" Lucy asked. The male shrugged.

"I can't speak for them. But more often than not, if I ask them to do something, they'll jump on it."

"May I ask why?" Sonya asked. "I understand if there's some stuff you don't feel comfortable discussing without them or they've requested you not discuss with others but I am curious."

"Well. Each of them kinda came from…bad situations. And that's putting it loosely. Freed and I met when we were kids. His parents and mine were good friends and when they died he came to live with me and my dad. Then my dad somehow got it in his head that lacrimas should be put in kids. Freed was one of his experiments, as was I. I had a dragon lacrima implanted in my head. Freed's eye was completely replaced with a demon lacrima. Porlyusica replaced my eye and managed to make Freed's eye look normal. Evergreen was a runaway from home who tried to make it big in Crocus. She ended up in a few bad situations. That was when she came to Fairy Tail. As for Bickslow…he's a former Dark Guild Member."

"What Guild?" Sonya asked.

"Corpse Yard. They'd often take kids off the street and give them drugs, whores and alcohol before forcing them to attack places. It was during an attack that Freed and I found him." Laxus ran a hand over his face. "He overdosed on the shit they gave him and no one cared. We brought him back with us and after he recovered and got clean, he helped us bring down the Dark Guild and free the other kids. But he does have the tattoos that he'd gotten while in the Guild. Namely the one in between his eyes."

"My goodness," Sonya breathed. "That's awful." Lucy bit her lip. She'd run away from home to be free of her father and the high-society lifestyle that had turned a loving father into a cold-hearted creature who would only take interest in her when it suited him and would bring him money. Evergreen's story was close to her own but there were horrors that the woman hadn't even shared with her beloved leader after years of being on his team. Freed had lived through Laxus' childhood nightmare alongside him. Bickslow had been raised by a Dark Guild under the influence of drugs and alcohol and they'd abandoned him when he needed them.

"You get all kinds in Fairy Tail. From Bickslow to Levy, who joined because they would let her sit inside and read and keep the bullies away," Laxus said.

"Quite true," Sonya said with a nod. "Still. Wow."

"It's just the hand we were dealt. And like Lucy said earlier, what's done is done." The girls let out small chuckles. The car came to a stop then and the engine revved.

"We're here," Sonya said.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonya, Laxus and Lucy hunt for a mad man and make some impressive discoveries.

The three clamored out of the car and looked around. The city around them sprawled right to the ocean coast a few miles away. All of the buildings were made of bricks and were built closely together. The main road was normal-sized and lead from the outskirts of the town straight to the town square and town hall. The close-built buildings formed small, winding roads and alleys that branched off the main road. The town hall stood before them, a massive flight of stairs made of sandstone leading up to the front door. Marble pillars held up the roof and the windows were open, revealing tapestries and painted portraits hanging on the walls inside.

"You guys ready?" Sonya asked as she started up the stairs.

"Yep!" Lucy chirped as she followed. Laxus let out a quiet grunt as he started following as well. Once at the top of the stairs, Laxus took hold of the massive, lion-shaped, gold knocker and let it hit the door three times. He heard someone skittering about frantically behind the door and almost let out a snarl at how long they were taking.

Finally, the door slowly creaked open. A maid ushered them inside and lead them to an office where a man was working on papers. He was roughly in his seventies, with thinning blonde hair combed over his head, narrowed, squinty eyes and his face already covered in so much make-up his skin almost looked orange.

"Sir, the Wizards are here," the maid said as she bowed and left the room. Sonya and Lucy looked around. Thick velvet curtains hung over the windows, and behind the man's desk was a massive portrait of himself that took up the majority of the wall. A menagerie of stuffed animals were placed through the massive office. The wolves and foxes were all in positions that suggested attack, the bears were on their back legs with forepaws out and mouths open in a roar, and even the mountain lion in the corner had teeth bared to attack, antlers from deer hung on the walls and aside from the desk, there was no place to sit in the entire office.

The man slowly looked up at the Wizards and set his pen down. His gaze made Lucy and Sonya each hold back a shudder. Laxus felt his jaw tightening. The man got up from his chair and came around the desk.

"I take it you're here to deal with the madman that's been bothering our town?" he asked as he came up and shook Laxus' hand. "I'm Mr. Blockus and I'm this town's mayor."

"Yes sir. My name is Laxus Dreyar, and these are my associates, Lucy Heartfilia and Sonya Vern." The mayor regarded the girls and returned to his seat behind his desk. "Is there any information you can give about this madman?"

"Didn't the flier tell you why you're here?" the mayor demanded.

"All it said was that there was a problem regarding an insane person here and that he had some beast, as well as the reward. Things like what he looks like, last place he was seen, any suspicions about where he is now, that kind of thing is what we need."

"It also wouldn't hurt to have details on the beast such as appearance and any abilities it has," Sonya said.

"You ask me, women can't operate much properly," the mayor muttered. Laxus' hand clenched into a fist.

"What was that?" Lucy asked, earning herself a glare from the man.

"Apparently society's fallen further than I thought. The savage, I can understand, but a lady of standing like that of the Heartfilia family should know to keep her mouth shut unless she actually plans on doing something useful with it."

"Savage?" Sonya asked. Blockus sighed.

"Yes, savage. Don't think I didn't notice the braid and fur," he said slowly. Laxus stepped in front of the girls.

"How about you two go wait in the car?" Laxus suggested. Sonya nodded and pulled Lucy out of the office and towards the car.

"Two at once and they know about each other? Seems like you've got better control over your girls than I do mine," Blockus sighed. Laxus almost growled.

"They are not my girls. And I don't control them," the lightning mage. Blockus looked at him as if he'd just grown a second head.

"Then why keep them around?"

"Because I trust them," Laxus growled. "They're my teammates. And we're getting off topic. In order to do our job properly, we need more information about this madman."

 

Sonya and Lucy quickly climbed into the car and upon setting herself back in her seat, Lucy let out a long shudder.

"That was just…"

"Disrespectful?" Sonya offered. "Uncomfortable?"

"Yea. Seriously, what's his deal?" The caramel-haired Wizard shrugged.

"Just some short-sighted idiot who decided to place himself above anything and anyone else. I say we leave this to Laxus." Lucy nodded. Sonya sat down next to her and wrapped an arm around her.

"Seriously. I think the guy was staring at my boobs more than anything else," the blonde muttered. "But what about you? He called you a freaking savage!"

"So what? That's just his opinion of me. I know it's not true, and you and Laxus know that. That's all that matters to me. We only need to deal with him for a few moments and then we get to go home." Sonya looked out the window. "Oh, here comes Laxus!" Lucy looked at the steps and her eyes widened. Laxus was storming down the stairs, teeth bared in a snarl, lightning arcing off his skin.

"He looks seriously pissed off," Lucy whimpered as she moved back.

"Yep," Sonya agreed as she opened the door. Laxus dropped down into a seat. "How did it go?" she asked.

"I do not want to discuss it," he hissed slowly. Sonya nodded.

"Sorry but we may need to, at least to a small extent. Like were you able to get anything about this madman out of him?"

"He's in the mountain just outside of town," Laxus managed through his clenched teeth as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Charioteer," Sonya said. The engine revved and the car began moving out of town. "Anything else? Anything about the beast?"

"Varying reports. Some people claim it's a serpent, some people think it's a lion of some sort." Sonya let out a groan.

"That's a big difference."

"That's literally all the information the old fool was willing to give," Laxus growled out. "Unless I was willing to make a trade."

"A trade?" Sonya asked. Laxus looked at the two girls, the message coming through quite clearly.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" Lucy exploded, leaping to her feet. Laxus and Sonya both flinched when the blonde's head hit the ceiling with a loud sound. "OW!" Lucy crouched down, holding onto the top of her head and hissing in pain.

"You okay Blondie?" Laxus asked as he leaned forward and placed a hand on top of hers. He added some slight pressure to the back to push her head up. Brown met stormy blue-grey as he did a quick assessment of her pupils. While he partially doubted she'd given herself a concussion, he'd heard of her infamous 'Lucy Kicks' that sent people flying so it wasn't too far out of the realm of possibility that she'd caused a mild concussion by jumping up the way she had.

The car's wheels rolled over a bump, causing the passengers to pitch to the side. The jostle made Laxus pitch forward. His hand shot out and caught on the seat Sonya was sitting on just as something hard collided with his mouth.

"Aw! You two are so cute!" Sonya cooed. Laxus opened his eyes and was met with a big pair of brown ones. It took half a second for him to realize the hard thing he'd hit his mouth on was Lucy's mouth. He blinked as the realization began dawning on him. He was kissing Lucy Heartfilia. He was kissing Lucy Heartfilia!

He yanked back, their mouths separating with a slightly wet popping sound.

"Sorry!" he said quickly as Lucy began blushing and covered her mouth with her hand.

"You're fine," she said quietly. The two got settled back in their seats as Sonya burst into giggles.

"You two want me to step outside?" she asked.

"Not funny Sonya," Lucy hissed, her whole face going red. Laxus grit his teeth and willed the heat coming to his face to go down, although he could practically feel the heat coming off his ears as they turned pink. Sonya let out another round of giggles.

 

Once the car came to a stop, the three climbed out, Lucy and Laxus avoiding looking at each other like the plague. The trio sat down on a fallen tree and Sonya began unpacking their lunch. The first part of the lunch box was full of sandwiches, the second filled with different fruits and vegetables and the final one had an assortment of desserts. Sonya ate a quick ham sandwich before summoning her bow.

"I'm gonna go scout a little. You two try talking a little. Maybe come up with some kind of strategy." With that, she leapt up into the trees and vanished, leaving the two blondes alone.

"Strategize based off what information?" Lucy asked. "He's a madman, inside the mountain, with an unknown beast that is either some kind of lion or snake."

"Well, if he's inside the mountain, it likely means that he's in a small place like a cave. So hand-to-hand combat will likely have better effect than long-range spells," Laxus said.

"Yea good point. Plus if we use hand-to-hand combat, it'll be less destructive than using spells if there's a miss."

"Or if we're just looking for a quick job, I could just use a lightning bolt to knock out both the man and the beast," Laxus finished.

"Yea that's right!" Lucy cheered, turning to look at the other blonde. Their eyes met and for a second, their earlier accidental kiss flashed through their minds and they quickly looked away from each other. "Laxus. I have a question."

"Hm?" Lucy took a deep breath and sat up straight.

"I heard that...during the Phantom Lord fiasco, you said something about me being your woman. Is that true?" the blonde female asked. The male sighed.

"Yes. I told Mira and Cana that if they convinced you to be my woman, I'd do what you wanted and help. But like I said this morning, I was an ass back then."

"I'm not gonna argue that. But I do want to ask if you still have an interest in me?"

"I'll tell you the truth Blondie, yea. I gotta say, if someone doesn't have an interest in you from looking at you, they're freaking blind. But after talking to you just a little bit, that kinda...I don't know...furthered it I guess. But there's also the fact that you are not 100% emotionally stable right now. You just found out you lost your dad yesterday."

"I see. Thanks for being honest. And thanks for keeping my emotions in mind. I know that for right now, I need to focus on what I need emotionally in order to be stable. I just lost my dad after all. I even told Sonya that I'm not ready to be making an emotional investment like that in another person. But in the meantime, I'd like to get to know you better as a person. If after I'm ready and doing better, you still are interested in me, I'd be happy to try going out with you and see where it goes from there." Lucy glanced over her shoulder to see Laxus was smiling slightly.

"Thanks Bl- Lucy," he said, looking at her over his own shoulder.

The two finished eating their meal, packed up the leftovers and sat back down to wait for Sonya to return.

Suddenly, Summer came bounding through the trees, carrying an arrow in her mouth. She ran up to Laxus and began whining. He held his hand open and she dropped the arrow inside. He sniffed along the shaft.

"Fresh blood," he reported. Lucy turned to the wolf.

"Where is she girl?" Summer barked and began tugging on Laxus' pant leg until the man stood up. Lucy stood as well and Summer pushed her to stand right behind the male. "What's all this about?"

"Traps. All those animals the mayor had in his office were probably caught using them. She's basically telling us to step where she does so that we don't get caught in one ourselves. Did Sonya step in one?" he asked the wolf, who barked in response before leading them back towards where she came from. "Step where I step and you should be fine." Lucy nodded and the two took off after the wolf.

There were a few times Lucy was tempted to try running around Laxus, but the bear traps holding snapped tree limbs roughly the same thickness as her leg made her stay right where she was. Either some animal-friendly person had sprung the traps to keep the animals safe, or Summer or Sonya had put the tree limbs there to spring the traps.

Finally the wolf came up to a small clearing where Sonya was leaning against a tree with her bow and arrow beside her. A practical wall of trees stretched behind her and every few seconds, she'd check around the tree she was leaning against.

Lucy moved to rush towards the other female, but Laxus grabbed her and held her still as Summer continued to slowly slink towards Sonya. The caramel-haired woman looked at them and placed a finger against her lips before gesturing for Laxus and Lucy to approach. Laxus sniffed the air cautiously as they moved closer. Something smelled foul and it was close. Upon reaching Sonya, Lucy quickly went over and hugged the other woman in relief as Laxus peered past the trees.

They were right near the base of the mountain and right in the line of sight from where he stood, Laxus could see a cave's entrance with some kind of light coming from inside. But laying out right in front of the cave's mouth was a sleeping lion. But where the tail should have been was a massive purple scorpion's tail. The lion had scratches on his sides, legs and paws. His mane was matted and every now and then, he bared his teeth in his sleep.

Laxus ducked down next to the girls.

"What the hell is that thing?"

"A manticore, its a creature of Ancient Ruin myth. Part lion, part scorpion," Sonya explained quietly. "Our little madman is definitely controlling him and is in that cave."

"You saw him?" Laxus asked.

"Yea. He was extremely pale, had gray-auburn-brownish hair, a gaunt face and kept muttering about fairies, giants, light and law. When he said law though, he visibly flinched and started laughing. But after he went in, I heard someone screaming. I think he might have a hostage." The sound of boots on stone caught Laxus' attention and he looked back at the cave.

The man who came out of the cave and started laughing at the skies made his blood run cold. He knew that man. Not too well, but well enough. After all, the Master of Phantom Lord had been fairly well known. Jose Porla had become a shell of his former self. While he'd been fairly thin in previous years, the man standing at the mouth of the cave was practically skeletal. His once darkened skin and hair had been bleached to a grayish color. His once clean-shaven face was now covered with a scraggly beard. His clothes could barely be qualified as ribbons as they hung off his form and his arms and legs had long, bloody scratches carved into them.

"He comes! He comes! He comes today!" the man screamed, waking his beast. "Soon the fairies will fall and I shall reclaim that which they stole!" Jose burst into another round of laughter as he went back into the cave, screaming "He comes!" over and over again. The manticore followed him, leaving the entrance of the cave abandoned.

"What's up?" Sonya asked. Laxus glanced at Lucy, who looked fairly frightened herself.

"That was Jose Porla, former Master of Phantom Lord and one of the Ten Wizard Saints," Laxus said. Sonya's eyes went wide.

"Are you serious?" Lucy nodded solemnly. "Then what are we gonna do?"

"Well, he's probably got a hostage in there. So if we can get him and that beast of his away from the cave, I could probably electrocute the both of them while you two get the hostage out," Laxus said.

"No way," Sonya hissed. "First off, if the myths are to be believed, manticores are lethal even without their tail. But I think that there's more to this beast than what we've seen."

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked.

"The scratches on his body. They look like they might've come from that tail. From what I saw, the angle would work. If that's the case then that would mean that the tail is more of a parasite, forcing the lion to obey." Laxus nodded.

"So do you have an idea of a plan?" he asked, checking the cave for any changes.

"One. If you and I can manage to get Jose and the lion away from the cave, Lucy can check on the hostage. I know a thing or two about scorpions so I can handle the tail if you can handle Jose," Sonya offered.

"Sounds good to me. Lucy, if there is a hostage, get them out and get them back to town. If not, get out of the cave as fast as possible," Laxus said. Lucy nodded. Sonya pulled the Key of the Charioteer out of her pouch and handed it to Lucy.

"Use this if there's a hostage. Don't worry about contracts. A part of Charioteer's contract with me is that if I give them over to another Wizard during an emergency, they'll come through the Gate to help." Lucy nodded and slipped the Key into her pocket. "Summer, you stay with her." The wolf nodded. Sonya slung her quiver onto her back and grabbed her bow. "Ready?"

"Let's go," Laxus said with a nod. Without another word, he and Sonya slipped around the tree. The young woman knocked an arrow and Laxus gave her a signal to wait. She nodded and watched as he neared the cave's entrance. A smirk crossed his face as he cupped his hands around his mouth.

"What is that boy doing?" she muttered.

"Fairy Law!" Laxus yelled into his hands. He quickly retreated back to the trees as a scream ripped through the mountain. The manticore bounded out and roared loudly. Jose came out of the cave, looking frantically for whoever had yelled. The two Fairy Tail Wizards locked eyes with each other for a second and then went to work. Sonya fired an arrow at the manticore's tail, the tip embedding itself in a crevice in the exoskeleton. An inhuman scream tore through the air. Laxus leapt out at Jose with lightning-covered fists.

Lucy waited a moment to make sure Laxus and Sonya had the beast and Wizard occupied before she darted into the cave. Inside, a number of glowing lacrima were lodged in the walls and the air reeked of human waste, rotting meat and a number of other things Lucy couldn't and didn't want to identify. The blonde looked around cautiously as her eyes adjusted to the light. In the main room of the cave was an assortment of furniture that was made from rickety wood and looked as though they would collapse upon someone touching them, let alone using them.

Curled up in a corner near the bed was a young woman with dark hair and pale skin, dressed in a stained covering that looked more like a potato sack than actual clothing. Lucy rushed over and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. She gasped and tried to move back, only to run into the cave's wall.

"Shhh. Shhh," Lucy soothed. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." The blonde slowly moved closer, showing her mark. "See? I'm a Fairy Tail Wizard. I'm here to get you out."

"You're Fairy Tail?" the woman asked, one of her hands dropping to her large belly.

"Yes I am. My name's Lucy, and you?"

"Hannah." The instant the word passed her lips, Hannah grabbed at her belly with a gasp and grit her teeth.

"What's wrong?" Lucy asked frantically.

"I'm in labor," Hannah forced through her teeth.

"In labor?" Hannah nodded quickly as she began to relax. "Is that what Jose meant by 'He comes'?" Hannah nodded again.

"He's delusional. He kidnapped me, claiming I was Heno, and he was Zeupiter. He thinks this child is going to be Mares, the god of war." Lucy's eyes widened.

"Wait a second. Zeupiter as in the Ancient Ruins' king of the gods? And Heno his queen?" Hannah nodded. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here. My team and I won't let anything happen to you or the baby I promise."

 

Laxus ducked under one of Jose's attacks and tried to land a kick, only to have the older mage block it.

"Pathetic mortal! You shall be the first my son feeds upon on his birth!" Jose screamed. Laxus jumped back as the former Phantom Lord Master lunged forward to grab his neck. The blonde looked past the deranged Wizard to see Sonya flipping and jumping around, firing arrows at the tail from every angle she could. But unfortunately the arrows didn't seem to be doing much more than annoy the beast.

"How you holding up?!" Laxus called as he leapt over Jose and started moving closer to his teammate. Sonya started moving towards him as well.

"Pretty well. But my arrows aren't doing much against this guy! All I can really say is that this tail is definitely some form of parasite attached to the lion!" The two Wizards leapt back again, ending up back-to-back.

"How about we trade dance partners then?" Laxus asked, looking over his shoulder to smirk at the girl. Sonya matched his smirk with her own.

"Sounds good," she said as she knocked another arrow and spun around the blonde's bulk to fire an arrow at Jose. Laxus fired a lightning bolt at the manticore, directing it so that it wouldn't hit the poor beast, but rather the thunder would make him back away. The beast did exactly as expected and backed away, shaking his head. Laxus teleported right next to the creature and punched the base of the tail with a lightning-covered fist. The lion roared loudly in pain as the tail came away, revealing several sets of claws digging into the lion's rear to keep the massive tail attached.

Laxus hit it again and the tail crashed to the ground. The lion ran off a few steps before laying down to lick at the new wounds on his rear. The blonde male turned to find Sonya and smirked to himself to see the young woman had pinned Jose to a tree with her arrows outlining his form and she had one more drawn and the tip poking at the base of his forehead.

"Go ahead and give me a reason. I could use the practice," she snarled.

"You pathetic mortals! Have you any idea who I am?! I am the king of the gods! I am Zeupiter! Release me now and your punishment shall be swift and merciful!" Sonya rolled her eyes at Jose's ramblings. She relaxed her bow and turned to face Laxus with a smirk.

"Aw! You got the poor guy free," she cooed as she neared the lion. He watched her carefully as she got closer but once her hand gently began petting his matted mane, he leaned into her touch. Laxus chuckled, earning the attention of the caramel-haired woman. "What?"

"Nothing. Just...you managed to tame this guy in under a few seconds."

"I didn't tame him. He allowed me to get close to him because he was curious," Sonya said as she knelt down next to the beast. "Did you see Lucy leave the cave at all?"

"No. I didn't." Sonya glanced over her shoulder at the cave's entrance.

"Neither did I." A light rattling began to disturb the air. Sonya snapped back around and scowled as she lunged to her feet. "Hit the dirt!" Laxus didn't argue and immediately got down. He turned over onto his back to see the tail rise up on it's own and the tip start coming down towards his chest.

"Lightning Dragon-"

"Celestial Dragon ROAR!" A stream of silvery-white plasma slammed into the tail, disintegrating it on contact. Laxus turned back around to see Sonya, closing her mouth to cut off the stream of power.

"You're a Dragon Slayer too?!"


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sonya, Laxus and Lucy wrap up their job and gain a new, longer one.

"You're a Dragon Slayer too?!" Sonya raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. What of it?" Laxus shot to his feet.

"Why wouldn't you say so?!"

"Because you never asked! How am I to know you'd want to know that information if you never ask for it?" the caramel-haired girl snapped.

"Who taught you to do that?"

"My papa." Laxus groaned.

"And who was he? What was his name?" the blonde pressed.

"My papa was Draco, the Celestial Dragon," Sonya deadpanned before turning on her heel and headed for the cave.

"Where are you going now?!"

"To check on Lucy! She's still in the cave!" Sonya yelled over her shoulder. Laxus sighed in partial frustration as he started following her, unaware of his own little follower behind him.

At the mouth of the cave, Sonya looked back at him and started giggling.

"You've got a follower." Laxus looked over his shoulder to see the lion was indeed following him. The blonde rolled his eyes and continued, the lion slowly following after him. "You're being followed," Sonya chuckled. Laxus looked again and he most certainly was being followed by this beast.

"Are you kidding me?" he groaned.

"He likes you," the Celestial Dragon Slayer teased before she pulled her shirt up over her nose and mouth and entered the cave. "Lucy?!"

"Sonya! We might have a problem!" Lucy called. Immediately, the two Dragon Slayers took off into the cave. The stench made both of them cover the bottoms of their faces. Upon reaching the main room, Sonya was immediately at Lucy's side.

"What's the matter?" she asked as she began looking over the dark-haired woman before them.

"She's in labor," Lucy said.

"She's what?!" Sonya cried before smacking her forehead with a slight groan. "This day keeps getting better and better." The caramel-haired Wizard ducked down to check the dilation and began fiddling through her Key pouch.

"What should we do?" Lucy asked.

"We need to get her out of here. This place reeks of infection and thus would not be a healthy place for anyone to be, let alone a newborn and mother," Sonya said as she pulled out a Key and pointed it at the open area behind herself. "Open, Gate of the Firebird! Phoenix!" A ball of fire appeared, lighting up the whole room for a moment before it faded, turning into a bird roughly the size of a turkey with flame-colored feathers that seemed to shift as she moved, giving the appearance of being aflame. She had a long neck and bright blue eyes lined with black that swirled on the end like Bickslow's.

"You summoned mi'lady?" she asked as she came over.

"Yea. We've got a problem. This woman is in labor and I know we can't have the baby in here but is it safe to move her somewhere else?" The bird hummed slightly as she ducked and did her own inspection, poking and prodding where and when she saw fit.

"What's your name my dear?" the bird asked.

"Hannah."

"Thankfully, we can move her. However, I wouldn't recommend going too far. Mi'lady, if you can summon the Charioteer, that would be helpful," the Phoenix said as she pulled her head back up. Sonya nodded and Lucy was quick to hand over the Key.

"Open, Gate of the Charioteer!" The car appeared in the open area of the cave and the engine revved. "Laxus, can you get the door please?" The blonde male nodded and quickly did as asked before turning back to help carry the woman, only to find Sonya had already lifted her up into her arms and was bringing her to the car.

"Oh, okay," the male said quietly as he moved out of the way. Sonya gently placed Hannah inside the car and the Phoenix and Lucy moved to sit with the mother-to-be. Sonya got into the front seat and Laxus leaned down to speak through the window. "I'll stay here and get Jose taken care of. You just worry about her and the baby."

"Alright. Be careful. I'll pick you up at the Town Hall when we get Hannah to a doctor," Sonya said with a nod. Laxus nodded as well and the car immediately took off.

"Mi'lady, once we get to a town, you may need to summon Leona to assist me," the Phoenix said gently.

"Alright. I have the Key ready," Sonya said as she took deep breaths to calm herself. Her hands were physically shaking as she pulled the Key out of her pouch. Hannah let out another groan as a contraction hit her. The Phoenix turned back to her patient and gently gave her instructions to help alleviate the pain.

"Hey Hannah, did you have a name in mind for the baby?" Lucy asked as the contraction ended.

"Yea," Hannah panted. "Um…I thought that the name Michael or Erik would be nice for a boy. Michelle or Erika for a girl." Lucy pulled a handkerchief from her coat pocket and began gently patting at the sweat drops on Hannah's face.

"Those sound nice," Sonya said. "Why those names?"

"My parents' names were Michael and Erika. They passed away when I was little and I got put into the foster system because I had no other relatives. Trust me, it was awful. So even though, this baby isn't one I was planning on having, I'm not giving them up. My baby won't be suffering in that system like I did." The dark-haired woman smiled gently and rubbed her swelled belly. "Not their fault their father was nuts." Sonya looked back with a gentle smile.

The engine revved as the forest gave way to city streets and buildings. Charioteer came to a stop outside a building with a Doctor's sign hanging over the door. Sonya all but leapt around to face the Phoenix.

"Is she still good to be moved?" Phoenix checked and quickly came back up.

"Afraid not mi'lady. We'll have to deliver the baby here." Sonya nodded.

"I'll summon Leona and then go get the doctor to help," she said as she held up the Key. "Open, Gate of the Little Lion!" Immediately, a woman with long mane-like orange hair dressed much like Loke appeared in the car. The only difference was she didn't wear glasses to cover her amber-gold eyes.

"Lady Sonya? You summoned?" Leona asked.

"Please help Phoenix with Hannah. I'm gonna go get the doctor." Leona nodded and immediately helped remove Lucy from the car as Sonya ran inside the building. Once the blonde was gone, Leona helped Hannah lay down and get situated before another contraction had her groaning in pain.

 

Laxus released a slight sigh as he watched the car speed away. The lion Jose had tormented bumped his head against Laxus' leg moving to somewhat rub his head against the human male.

"You trying to comfort me or something?" Laxus asked as he left the cave. Standing just past the mouth was a relief in and of itself, if only for the fact that the putrid smells were behind him at that point. The lion shook his head from side to side slightly. "You're really following me around now, aren't ya?" The lion let out a little roar as if agreeing with him. Laxus groaned. "I'll deal with you once Zeupiter is dealt with."

Laxus turned to where Sonya had pinned Jose. Then man was screaming about how his bride and son had been stolen and how he'd get revenge on the traitors who stole them. Laxus sighed. He could remember a time when he was young when he'd looked at Jose Porla and been utterly terrified while also completely in awe of how he managed to keep himself in check despite the great power he controlled. To see him reduced to this was honestly pitiful.

The blonde went over and removed the arrows before using some of the ribbons that covered Jose's form to tie his hands behind his back. Then Laxus looked at the lion who stood a few steps away, watching Jose warily.

"You coming or what?" Laxus asked. He knew it would likely end with the lion getting a little motion-sick if he used a lightning teleport, but he couldn't take the risk of Jose getting free to continue to hurt people the way he'd apparently hurt Hannah.

The lion slowly came over, snarling as Jose as he pressed his head to Laxus' leg. The Lightning Wizard reached down and patted the lion's matted mane before he summoned his magic to teleport the three males to the town hall. Upon landing, Jose's screaming became slurred as if he were drunk and the lion walked away a little to vomit before following Laxus up the stairs.

This time, Laxus wasn't going to wait around for some maid to open the door or lead him to the office. The job was done, Sonya and Lucy were helping Hannah and her baby and the lion had decided to stay with the blonde Dragon Slayer. All he needed to do was ditch Jose, collect the reward and find the girls.

Upon reaching the office, Laxus kicked the door open, letting it bang against the wall as he hauled Jose through the room. Mr. Blockus stood up from his desk and began yelling about civility. Laxus glared at the man and threw Jose down before the desk.

"There's your madman," the Wizard snapped. The mayor opened his mouth but the lion came up next to Laxus and roared at the man, making him leap back. The Dragon Slayer heard a few maids and a butler at the door, whispering to themselves. "If you don't mind, I'm in a rush. In case you forgot, the reward was the town's collection of Celestial Keys. And don't try anything stupid. I'm in a bad mood and I work with Celestial Wizards so I know what Celestial Keys look like."

"Sir?" Laxus glanced over his shoulder as the butler came into the room. He was a middle-aged man, probably in his fifties at most, dressed in a plain black suit with white gloves on his hands. His brown hair was slicked back and his brown eyes were magnified by thick glasses. "I do beg your pardon, sir, but may I see the request for this particular job?" Laxus pulled the page from his coat pocket and handed it over. The man looked it over and nodded before turning to the maids. "Mary. If you'd be so kind as to get the Keys?"

"Yes sir!" one of the girls said with a quick nod and she bowed before leaving.

"As for you two, please return to your work. If you've finished, I hope you enjoy your day." The remaining girls nodded and bowed before running off themselves. The butler turned back to Laxus with an almost grandfatherly smile. "I would like to apologize for our idiot mayor's behavior if any of your interactions offended you. I swear, he grew up in a barn. But I must return to work. If you'd be so kind as to see yourself and your lion to the door upon the conclusion of your business, I'd greatly appreciate it."

"Thanks for your help," Laxus said as the butler returned the job request to the Wizard and left the room.

"Why you filthy Guild rat!" the Mayor roared, his face turning red under the make-up. "How dare you barge in here and demand all this unreasonable nonsense!"

"What's unreasonable about expecting to be paid for the work my team and I did?"

"Work? What work?! Your grandfather is one of the Ten Wizard Saints just like this guy! I'm willing to bet you two met up somewhere and came up with this plan in order to steal the Keys from my town!" Laxus' hand clenched into a fist and the lion snarled in warning. "I bet that freak savage put some pagan-voodoo spell on that beast to make it obey you and once you have what you want, you'll let it kill me!" Lightning began arcing off of Laxus' arms.

"This is your last warning. Shut up now before you really piss me off." Blockus sneered and pulled a handgun from under the desk. He pointed it at the lion and began pulling the trigger. Laxus surged forward and grabbed Blockus' wrist and squeezed until he heard the distinct snapping of bones. Blockus screamed as Laxus released the man's arm.

"What the hell's wrong with you?!" the Mayor roared as he gripped his wrist.

"You pissed me off. And I warned you to not do that. Now listen here, if you report this to the Magic Counsel, I'm certain attempting to fire a handgun within a building like the Town Hall, not to mention trying to kill a lion that was doing no harm to anyone but your ego, would land with you being the one in prison. Mayor or not."

"Excuse me sir?" Laxus turned around to see the maid, Mary, holding a wooden box out to him.

"Thanks," he said, taking it off her hands. The metal Keys rattled inside. "Mind if I check?"

"Go ahead," Mary said with a nod.

"I'm the one who says what can and cannot be done here!" Blockus roared. Laxus rolled his eyes and opened the box. Inside lay at least ten Keys, twenty at most. But what made Laxus pause was the fact that there were two shades of metallic-gray in the box. One was certainly silver, but the other was iron. Laxus schooled his expression, closed the box and tucked it under his arm.

"Thank you. Have a good day," the blonde said as he left the room, the lion following close behind. Once the two had left the building, Laxus checked the box again. Definitely Silver and Iron.

The lion let out a low purr-like sound and made his way down the stairs as Laxus shut the box and followed suit.

"Alright, now we just need to wait for Sonya to come get us," Laxus said as he sat down on a step. The lion lay out next to him. "You know what, if you're going to be following me everywhere, we're gonna need a name for you." The feline let out a noise as if reluctantly agreeing. "So...Leo...and Loke are out of the question entirely. Those would be weird. And personally, I'd like to not be dumb like Natsu and name you something that means lion. Maybe...Rai?" The lion perked. "Rai. Freed said it was an Oriental word meaning Thunder...I think." Laxus paused in his musings as his newer companion began rubbing his head against the Wizard's chest. Laxus leaned back against the wall and began gently trying to untangle some of the matts in the beautiful mane. Oddly enough, the wall was warm against his back and the lion cuddling up to him added to the gentle heat. Soon enough, Rai fell asleep on Laxus' leg as the Wizard continued working at the matted hair.

It was sunset by the time Charioteer came around a corner and headed towards the two males. Laxus slowly began to stand up, rousing Rai from his sleep. The Lightning Mage had managed to untangle some of the matted fur but it was only a few of the many clusters. Once Charioteer came to a stop, Laxus opened the passenger- side door and let Rai jump into the backseat. The minute the Wizard himself moved to get in, he was all but hit in the face with the scent of blood and other things that made him gag for a second. Once he managed to get a hold of himself, he settled into the seat and placed the box of Keys on the middle console.

Sonya was in the driver's seat, a solemn look on her face. The scent of blood coupled with the look made Laxus' stomach drop to his feet.

"What happened?" he asked. Sonya sighed gently as Charioteer started driving off.

"Hannah didn't make it," she said flatly. "Erika's fine though." Laxus sat back in his seat. He had no idea what to say. "Lucy's with her right now at the doctor's office. And since Hannah had no relatives and Jose's gone mad not to mention is a criminal, I'm going to adopt her."

"No, Sonya I can't let you do that. You're nineteen," Laxus said. Sonya shrugged.

"So? The Magic Counsel are usually quick to place children with magic potential in families that use magic as well. I haven't caused destruction since I joined Fairy Tail and use a rare form of magic at that. Considering Erika is the daughter of a former Wizard Saint, she's got at least a 50% chance of having magic like Jose does. Plus, Kinana and I have a history of being a good family. The Counsel has no reason to say she can't be with us." Laxus growled under his breath. "Plus, I stand by the firm belief that it takes a village to raise a child. And we certainly have that."

"That may be, but some members of our 'village' aren't the best people to raise a child around," Laxus pointed out.

"I can protect Kinana and Erika. Don't worry. And if I'm not there then I trust Alzack and Bisca, Romeo, Laki, Max, and Warren to take care of her. And that's because they had my back when I needed them over the past seven years."

"Just them and no one else?" Laxus asked.

"I trust you and Lucy. I want to trust the Thunder Legion better and I likely will when we work together. But the others in the Guild, like Macao, Wakaba, and especially Nab, I don't trust any further than I can throw them," she said pointedly. She looked up in the mirror. "So he's still following you?" Laxus looked over his shoulder as Rai laid out over the backseat.

"Yea. He likes the name Rai apparently." Sonya looked back and waved with a gentle smile.

"Hi there Rai." The lion let out some mix between a grunt and a roar as he laid his head down. "Looks like he's sleepy. Also, his mane looks better."

"Yea, I untangled some of the matts while we were waiting." Sonya nodded and looked down at the box. Laxus smirked and picked it up again, this time pushing it closer to her. "Go ahead and look them over. I think you'll get quite the kick out of them." Sonya raised an eyebrow at the male before opening the lid.

The squeal she released had him covering his ears.

"No way! No freaking way! The Iron Heroes!" she cheered, a smile brightening her face, making her practically shine brighter than the stars she drew her power from.

"Yes, the Iron Heroes," he sighed as he checked his ears for blood. "Can you squeal any louder or higher?"

"Oh please you old badger, that was barely a squeal." Charioteer came to a stop outside the doctor's office again and Sonya quickly got out of the car. Laxus and Rai followed and Charioteer vanished back to the Celestial Spirit Realm. Laxus blocked the massive feline from entering the building. Call him crazy but he didn't think it was the best idea to allow a 90 plus Kg lion covered in old and fresh cuts near a newborn baby. Before he could even say anything, Rai sat down and began licking at his rear. Laxus sighed and shut the door. He leaned against it for a moment. He could hear the baby crying in a back room and someone trying to soothe her.

His feet began to follow the sound as his mind wandered, trying to think of a means of getting Sonya and Lucy to see reason. Yes, the child needed a home and yes the foster-care system in Fiore was messed up to its core, but that didn't mean that Fairy Tail would be a good place to raise a kid, or that Sonya and Kinana should be the ones to do it.

Laxus came to a stop outside one of the rooms in the hall. Inside was a nursery and he could see Lucy seated in a rocking chair, holding a tiny pink bundle in her arms with Sonya leaning over the two. Her hand was just over the bundle and a tiny hand was gripping her finger. He sighed and entered the room. Lucy smiled at him.

"Hey Laxus, can you come take Erika for a moment? My arms are getting tired," the seated blonde said. Laxus' eyes went wide. He glanced down at his own arms in comparison to Lucy's. She was smaller, softer and less likely to accidentally break the tiny infant if she twitched.

"Sure he can," Sonya answered as she came over and pushed Laxus to stand by the rocking chair. Lucy stood up gingerly and Laxus took her seat in the rocking chair. Sonya helped him situate his arms into an awkward cradle before setting the baby down in his hold.

"You good?" Lucy asked.

"I guess?" he said.

"Great. Because I gotta run for a sec." With that, the buxom blonde made a dash out the door and Sonya took a seat against the wall. Laxus looked around the room, eyeing the equipment, the crib, the changing station, anything to keep from looking down at the crying infant in his arms.

"Sonya, can't you help me out here?" he asked, as his hand began gently patting the baby's back. Sonya eyed him.

"You've barely had her for three seconds. Just relax. Try talking to her or something." Laxus sighed and looked down at the child in his arms. Her screaming and wailing did not seem to have an end. Her face was scrunched up and bright red. Her tiny hands were flying about as if trying to find something to hold onto. She somehow managed to move her head slightly and Laxus' eyes picked up a tiny light near her lip.

Gingerly, he pulled one arm free and picked at where he'd seen it with the tip of his finger. He pulled up and up came one of Lucy's long blonde hairs and he tossed it to the side. In a few seconds, the crying stopped. Laxus looked down and saw that the baby was now licking her lips as if to make sure what had been aggravating her was really gone. She looked up at him and released a tiny squeal, revealing her gummy jaws and tongue. He let her grab onto his finger and to his surprise, she actually had a good grip.

Her big, violet-colored irises were staring at his fingertip as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. And as her face returned to normal, he noticed a small amount of fuzz on the top of her head. It was either blonde or very light brown but the blanket almost made it look red. She pulled his fingertip into her mouth and started gumming on it, helping to reveal tiny little dimples she had in her cheeks.

Laxus sighed to himself. He had to admit, Erika was pretty darned adorable. He halted his thoughts right there. He was not trying to get attached to this darling little thing. Not at all. But calling her by her name would make it a lot harder to leave. But now that he was holding her and she'd stopped crying, could he really do it? Could he honestly try to full-heartedly convince Lucy and Sonya to not take this sweet child to Fairy Tail if even he didn't want to do it? Was his resolve honestly so fragile that one tiny, adorable baby creature in his arms was enough to shatter it?

Erika yawned and snuggled into Laxus' hold. He mentally cursed. Apparently, it was.

"How did you do that?" Sonya asked.

"Do what?"

"Get her to stop crying." Sonya stood up and came over to peer over his shoulder at the sleeping baby.

"She had a hair on her lip. Seems like it had been bothering her," he explained quietly. Sonya giggled lightly as Laxus let his mind wander a little bit. He knew Kinana and Sonya lived in the Guild Hall, but that wasn't the best place to keep up a schedule for a baby, and the brawls would be especially dangerous. On top of that, how much space did they honestly have in that room of theirs? Not to mention how much it actually took to take care of a baby, considering they needed food, formula, bottles, clothes they'd outgrow in a couple months and that didn't even begin to cover everything.

But...maybe Sonya had the right idea. Maybe it did take a village. Sonya had said she'd babysit Azuka a few times as a baby. There were some people in the Guild who could control themselves enough to not get involved in the brawls.

"Sonya." The caramel-haired woman met his gaze. "Do you really think you can take care of her?"

"Yes. I honestly do." He nodded and looked back down at Erika.

"Then do what you think is best." Sonya smiled at him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"What I think is best, is that she be raised by a family who will love and care for her. And I believe Fairy Tail is that family." Laxus smiled at her and slowly stood up.

"In that case, what do you need in order to adopt her?" Laxus asked as he handed Erika over to the caramel-haired Celestial Wizard.

"Don't worry. I already contacted the Magic Counsel. They want the doctor here to watch her overnight and for us to send in a letter with the information for her birth certificate and the name of the people who will be taking care of her, including those if anything happens to me and Kinana. And because of all that, the doctor is going to let us stay here for the night. He has an extra room he keeps prepared for his grandkids if they ever come over so we're gonna stay in there. He stepped out to get a bassinette for Erika to sleep in the room with us so we won't need to try moving that big old crib." Laxus nodded.

"In that case, we'll send that letter once we get back to the Guild."

"Thank you Laxus," Sonya said.

"But we might need to take another job in order to get everything we'll need."

"Don't worry about it. I also called Alzack and Bisca if they had anything from when Azuka was a baby and if I could use them for Erika. So we're set for a crib, playpen, bottles, some toys, plenty of clothes changing station and even a couple boxes of diapers." The blonde Dragon Slayer chuckled slightly.

"You thought all this through, haven't you?" he asked. Sonya shrugged.

The sound of the door opening and closing caught Laxus' attention and he quickly put himself between Sonya and the door.

"Hello?! I'm back and I could use a little help if you wouldn't mind." Sonya let out a slight noise of relief.

"That's the doctor," she explained. Laxus nodded and the two headed down the hall towards the old man's voice.

Upon seeing him, Laxus froze in his tracks. The man standing before him looked old enough to make Makarov look young by comparison. The doctor was mostly bald save for a few hairs that poked out wildly like he'd stuck his finger in a light socket. The glasses perched on the tip of his nose magnified his eyes to almost unbelievable proportions. He was dressed in a blue shirt covered in pink and yellow hibiscus flowers, a pair of jeans that were threadbare at the knees and a pair of shiny black shoes. In one bony hand, he held a white basket connected to two extremely thick wires shaped into triangles with a big pink bow on the top. In the other, he held a bag of groceries. Off his elbow was a plain black cane.

Sonya moved forward and took the bassinette from him as Lucy came around a corner and took the groceries. The man leaned heavily on his cane and looked Laxus over thoughtfully

"Hmm. And I take it this is the famous Laxus I heard so much about?" he asked, his jaw shaking terribly as he spoke clearly. His hands shook on his cane as well.

"Yes, he is," Lucy said as she took the groceries back behind the wall where the doctor's office ended and his home began.

"Well then." The doctor began walking after Lucy. "In that case. Can I get you anything? Tea? Lemonade? Water?"

"I'm fine thanks," Laxus said as he, Sonya and Erika followed the doctor into his living space. His kitchen doubled as a dining room with the island in the middle of the room. A half-wall separated the kitchen from the living room where Laxus could see a loveseat, a long couch, a bookshelf full of books and a piano against the wall. In the corner next to the piano was a flight of stairs leading to more living space. On the opposite side was another door that probably lead to the doctor's bedroom. On the wall across from the end of the half-wall was a slightly ajar door that lead into the bathroom.

"I insist young man, never a good idea to get dehydrated. Next thing you know, you'll start seeing things. By Jove, I swear, on my way in, I could've sworn I saw a lion sitting outside my door!" The old man burst into a kind of cackling laugh as he moved towards the cupboards and grabbed a couple of glasses and then went to the refrigerator in order to get a pitcher of lemonade.

"His name is Rai," Laxus said as the man shuffled to a cabinet and grabbed a box of tea bags. His shaggy eyebrows raised slightly.

"He's your lion then?" the man chuckled warmly as Lucy reached into the cupboard and pulled down a white teapot covered in small red roses along the rim as well as a matching cup and saucer. "Thank you my dear."

"Where do you want me to put the groceries?" Lucy asked.

"Just keep them there on the counter. We'll need them for later."

"Well, he likes me enough to follow me around at least," Laxus said as Sonya set the bassinette next to the island and set Erika inside it.

"That's better than wanting to eat you," the doctor said. "Oh. Allow me to introduce myself. My name's Dr. George Viles. But everyone just calls me George." George went over to the stove and set a kettle on to boil and then got a massive pot of water on the stove as well. The old man shuffled over to where Lucy had taken the groceries and pulled out a box of pasta, a jar of sauce, some spices and a small loaf of bread.

"Do you want any help?" Sonya offered as she stood up and came over.

"That would be very nice, thank you. I hope you youngsters like pasta."

"Oh no, we couldn't ask that of you," Sonya said as she came over to the old man.

"Nonsense. I insist. You youngsters are my guests for the night. It wouldn't be right for me to not feed you," George said. Sonya smiled gently.

"Thank you. In that case, please let me help you with dinner," she said. The two got the pasta started and sliced up the bread before covering it in butter and garlic and placing it into the oven. Once the pasta was done and drained, the two added in the sauce. As Sonya and George got the dishes ready for dinner, Erika woke up and started crying. Lucy came over and took the tiny infant from the bassinette and tried calming her down. George went over to the bag of groceries and pulled out a container of baby formula and a bottle.

"Sounds to me like little Miss Erika may be hungry. Any of you kids know how to make a bottle?" the old doctor asked.

"I do. But it's been a few years since I made one," Sonya said with a raised hand. George nodded and brought handed the bottle and formula to the caramel-haired Wizard.

"Lucy, there should be a pacifier in there. It should be able to keep her quiet as we make the bottle," George advised. Lucy checked the bag and pulled out a brand new white pacifier with a red button on the front decorated with a duck followed by tiny yellow ducklings. Lucy slipped the rubber end of the item into Erika's mouth and the child was immediately quiet.

"George, you're honestly doing too much," Lucy said as she set Erika on her shoulder and patted her back gently. "I can understand the formula, diapers, bottles and pacifier, but I saw a diaper bag, some clothes and toys in there too."

"Christmas is less than a week away, isn't it? Consider it a gift from me to Erika."

"But George, really. It's too much," Sonya said as she and the old man began assembling the bottle and filling it with water and formula powder.

"None of you were expecting to have to take care for a baby while on this job. It's only an old man trying to be helpful to another generation," he said as he placed the pasta in a massive bowl and the garlic bread in a basket as Sonya twisted the top of the bottle on and tested the liquid on the inside of her wrist before handing the bottle over to Lucy.

Laxus got up and offered Lucy his seat, which she took with a smile. She set the bottle on the island and settled Erika in the crook of her arm as Laxus and Sonya helped George set the island with plates, silverware, food, drinks, and napkins. Once the bottle was in Erika's mouth, she became entirely immersed in the task of guzzling down her formula.

 

Once dinner was gone, the dishes cleaned and put away and another bottle prepared for Erika and stored in the fridge for later, the group moved to the living room. Sonya and Lucy amused themselves by looking through George's gifts for Erika, which included an orange blanket with an orange stitched on the front over the words "I'm a Cutie!" stitched in red, a little yellow onesie with a little brown monkey eating a banana on the chest, a purple onesie that was solid purple on the top and striped with white on the bottom, a few pairs of socks, a green and blue plaid diaper bag, some foam blocks, a Dalmatian rattle, and a purple bunny to snuggle with.

When Erika started crying in need of getting changed, the girls went to the nursery to do that, leaving Laxus and George alone. Laxus had been plenty amused watching the girls and George had kept his nose buried in a book of philosophy.

"George, I cannot thank you enough for what you've done tonight," the blonde said. "I don't have much money on my person, but if you send a bill to the Fairy Tail Guild, we'll see to it you're properly compensated for what you've done."

"Not necessary. If you're discussing my involvement in Erika's birth, that honor goes to Miss Sonya's Spirits, the Phoenix and Little Lion. I only did what I normally do for my son, which is cleaning up mother and child, and fetching any towels or water needed. I'm retired. My son took over the office and I help with filing and taxes every now and again. But soon enough, he'll be retiring, and his son will take over the clinic. Everything else is just an old man seeing people needing help and wanting to do something," the old man said flatly as he set down his book.

"Wait a second, if you're retired, and your son is in charge of the office, why are you still here?" Laxus asked. "I'm not trying to be rude, but it's pretty clear you need some help around here."

"I may be old but I've still got my wits about me. My son and grandson come by on weekdays and help me when they can. On Sundays, my daughter-in-law and grandson's fiancé join them to visit and help with the cleaning and we all have dinner afterward. "I'm not in a home because my family can see that they can be here for me, and I don't have any medical issues that require constant supervision. As a result, I get to stay in the home I've lived in since I graduated medical school. Where I got married to my late wife, raised my son, saw him get married, birthed my grandson, and helped to raise him. For that, I'm always grateful and since I have so much time and some excess money on my hands, I can use it to help others, which is what gives me the greatest pleasure in life. In all honesty, even if Fairy Tail sent me money to 'compensate' for tonight, I'd send it right back. I'm not looking for fame or recognition for what I do, I just want to make my brother and sister humans happy."

"Fine then. In that case, if you ever need the Fairy Tail Guild, for anything, just give us a call and I'll send our very best. I give you my word as a Fairy Tail Wizard and the fourth Master," Laxus said. George smiled at him.

"Thank you my boy."

 

The bed was king-sized and covered with blue sheets and a yellow comforter. A bookshelf covered in medical books and fairy tales was against the wall and a red fake leather armchair with brass buttons lining it sat in the corner.

Laxus set down the crib by the bed and Sonya placed Erika within the tiny confines before setting the diaper bag down on the floor next to the bassinette.

"So how are we going to do this?" Lucy asked, looking the bed over. Sonya and Laxus looked at the bed then at her.

"It doesn't look too small. I'm sure we could all fit," Laxus said. "Unless you two have a problem with that."

"Nope," Sonya said with a shrug. Lucy bit the inside of her cheek a little. In all honesty, she was kinda nervous about sharing a bed with a man, let alone a man like Laxus who had earlier that very day admitted he had an interest in her. But Sonya was going to be with them, not to mention Baby Erika so he wouldn't try anything, right?

"I'm okay with it," she said. Sonya and Laxus nodded. The blonde male left the room to allow the girls to get changed into their pajamas in peace. Lucy chose the more modest of her collection of night-wear in the form of a pair of pink sweatpants and a white t-shirt while Sonya wore a simple blue cotton nightgown. The two got into bed so that Lucy was on the edge and Sonya acted as a barrier between her two blonde friends.

Laxus came in a moment later dressed in a pair of boxers and laid down on his side of the bed.

"Good night girls," he yawned as he pulled up the blankets.

"Good night Laxus, Lucy. Sweet dreams Erika," Sonya said as she got comfy.

"See you guys in the morning. Don't let the bedbugs bite Erika," Lucy said as she laid her head down and soon enough the three were asleep.

 

Laxus wasn't sure what woke him up but he laid in the darkness for a couple minutes before he heard Erika begin to cry. He sighed and got out of the bed and went over to the bassinette to see if he could calm her down before she woke up the girls. He reached in and cautiously picked her up, being as mindful as possible of her head and neck.

He bounced her gently as he made his way down the stairs and into the kitchen. He was certain he'd seen Lucy make a bottle for later on in case Erika needed it in the middle of the night.

He smirked slightly when he opened the refrigerator and found the pre-made bottle on the top shelf. He grabbed the formula and put it in the microwave to heat up. As he waited, he set Erika against his shoulder so she faced away from him and began patting her back as he bounced gently.

Once the microwave timer alerted its completion, he set the infant in the crook of his arm to free the other one to test the drink for heat. Once he thought it was suitable for the child, he eased the end of the nipple into her mouth and slowly made his way back up the stairs. He figured once he'd seen to getting her fed, burped and put back to sleep, he'd come back down to clean the bottle and prepare another one to replace the one he'd used. After that, it might be about time to change Erika so if he was still up, he might as well just do it so that the girls could keep sleeping.

Laxus spared a glance toward Lucy and Sonya as he sat down in the armchair with the happily feeding infant. The two girls were snuggled close to each other, but what was weird was that they seemed to have gravitated towards the warm spot he'd left on the bed.

Sonya shifted in her sleep, causing her hand to bump Lucy's and a spark to fly between the two upon contact. Laxus felt something like a wave move through the room. It wasn't too powerful, but it was enough magic pressure to make his chest tighten slightly.

"What was that?" he asked himself. He felt Erika's head move in his arm and looked down to see she hadn't finished her bottle but she was trying to signal that she was done for the time. The blonde male set the bottle down for a moment before grabbing Erika's blanket from the bassinette and covering his shoulder with it as a protective measure against any spit-up. He set the child on his shoulder and gently started patting her back as he kept an eye on the two sleeping Celestial Wizards in the bed.


	11. Chapter 11

Laxus had barely gotten any sleep through the night. He'd woken up almost every hour or two and one of two things would happen. Either Erika would start crying before he could get back to sleep or he'd feel the need to check on the girls and Rai. He could've sworn Erika had some sort of sixth sense for when he in particular was awake and would choose then to get hungry for another portion a bottle or to demand her diaper be changed. Laxus had handled most of the crying through the night because the girls had been sound asleep while he was wide awake. It made more sense that he handle the baby in that case.

Laxus had just finished changing Erika and setting her back in the bassinette when Sonya suddenly snapped to sit up in bed with a scream, making the blonde male jump in surprise. Lucy groaned lightly as she started waking up. Sonya started panting slightly as she shakily ran her hands over her face.

"You okay?" Laxus asked. Sonya jumped and looked at him.

"No…Wait…No…Yes…Hold on," she said quickly. "Yes, I am fine physically but something is wrong." Laxus sat down on his side of the bed.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"What's going on?" Lucy yawned as she stretched.

"I had a nightmare," Sonya explained to the sleepy blonde as she sat up. Lucy wrapped her arms around Sonya comfortingly. "The issue is, even when I have nightmares or pleasant dreams, I've always remembered my dreams. It's part of my magic."

"It is?" Laxus asked. Sonya nodded.

"It's a long story. But the thing is, even if I don't remember everything I saw and heard, I always remember at least one thing. I just remember feeling scared. No images, no sounds, just the feeling of fear," the caramel-haired woman explained.

"That's weird," Lucy commented, earning a nod of agreement from her fellow Celestial Wizard.

"Is anything off with you guys today?" Sonya asked.

"Now that you mention it, I could barely sleep last night. I kept waking up every hour or two, but I feel like I got a full night's sleep," Laxus said.

"Now that's weird because I honestly feel like I haven't slept all night," Lucy yawned. The two Dragon Slayers looked at each other thoughtfully.

"We should get going. My guess would be that there's something about this place throwing our magic for a loop. Maybe Jose used some sort of spell or something. I mean, we were all exposed to him in some way or another," Sonya suggested. Laxus nodded.

"I agree. I'll get dressed downstairs and wait for you girls there. If you need me, come get me." The girls nodded as Laxus left the room.

Within half an hour, the three Wizards had left a note for George, thanking him for what he'd done and an explanation as to their quick departure, packed themselves up in Charioteer and were on their way home. Lucy was in the back with Erika, trying to fasten her into the car seat that Charioteer had appeared with, however the lack of energy was making it all but impossible.

"So Sonya, you said that your premonitions are a part of your magic?" the tired blonde asked.

"Yea. People have depended upon the stars for signs and meanings since forever. That's where the idea of horoscopes came from. Some ancient prophesies are based of the stars' motions and interpreted meanings. And some of the best diviners in our history had some connection to Celestial Wizards, either being the offspring or grandchild of one. "

"Did Draco tell you that?" Laxus asked. Lucy perked up a little.

"Draco? As in the Celestial Dragon? I mean the Dragon in the constellation?" Sonya nodded.

"He's my papa," she said plainly. Lucy yawned.

"Sorry. I don't mean to be rude."

"You're fine," Sonya said dismissively.

"But if you were raised by a Dragon…Do you…"

"Yes. I am a Dragon Slayer, just like Laxus, Natsu, Gajeel and Wendy." Lucy's eyes widened.

"When I asked her why she didn't tell us earlier, she said it was because we never asked," Laxus explained.

"Speaking of asking," Sonya said quickly. "Before I forget, how did you manage to take care of Erika all on your own through the night? I mean, you were super tense when you held her earlier so I can tell you don't have a lot of experience with newborns." Laxus nodded.

"You're right I don't have a lot of experience with newborns but I do have experience with infants. During my banishment I found out something…pretty scary."

"And what was that?" Lucy asked. The other blonde smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"As it turns out, I'm not the only kid my father had. I have a younger half-sister named Rose. And when I went to go find her, she had her own little three-month-old to take care of." Both girls let out a little "Aw" sound.

"Why would you not tell us about that sooner?" Sonya asked. The blonde male smirked.

"You never asked," he said, earning him a slight glare from the caramel-haired girl.

"Can you tell us about them? Like was it a boy or girl? What do they like? What are they like? What do they look like?" Lucy asked quickly.

"Slow down," Laxus chuckled. "Rose uses Summoner magic. It's kinda like your guys' magic but she doesn't use Keys, she uses incantations. And I think you'd like her Lucy. She's a bookworm through and through. When I went to see her, she had one room dedicated solely to books and the bookshelves were so full she had to stack books on top of another and the stacks were as tall as me." The girls burst into giggles.

"Alright. What about looks? Or the baby's name?" Sonya asked.

"Well, Rose has blonde hair that turned red at the tips and gray eyes like mine. The baby's name is Alexis and it's a girl. She has gray eyes too like her mother but has red hair, apparently like her father. Rose never told me the guy's name but she said he'd only left before she knew she was even pregnant and he wouldn't have left unless he needed to."

"Sounds like she's still crazy about him," Sonya commented. Laxus shrugged. "Where are they? Or where were they the last time you saw her?"

"Last time I saw her, she was living out of some abandoned shrine near Shiratsume, but she was fixing it up so it looked pretty nice even before I got there."

"You're sure it was Shiratsume? Like where? On what side?" Sonya asked quickly. Her eyes were concerned and immediately, Laxus tensed.

"I think it was the south western area on the outskirts of town. Why? What happened?" Sonya let out a sigh, but it was far from relieved.

"A couple years ago, some Wizards got called in to an emergency in Shiratsume. A…creature…named Gutman Cubric was rampaging around. He used Rupture Magic. Basically he made whatever magic anyone had expand until it ruptured or he made things basically explode with his Magic. The entire Western side of Shiratsume got demolished and we even lost some Wizards who were fighting him. The only reason we even managed to get him in some magic-canceling shackles was because he fell asleep. It was honestly terrifying. And we had two Wizard Saints with us, not to mention at least twenty Wizards from Lamia Scale, Blue Pegasus, Fairy Tail and Sabertooth."

"Sabertooth?" Lucy asked.

"As of now, they're known as the strongest Wizarding Guild in Fiore. The biggest thing about them is they have three Slayers in their ranks, two Dragons Slayers and one God Slayer."

"A God Slayer?" Laxus asked. The caramel-haired girl nodded.

"Sting Eucliff, the White Dragon Slayer, Rogue Cheney, the Black Dragon Slayer, and Orga Nanager, the Lightning God Slayer. Those three are probably the most deadly of Sabertooth's ranks aside from the Master, Jiema Orland, and his daughter Minerva. Trust me, they're scary." Laxus couldn't help a chuckle as a spark of lightning danced over his face. Sonya immediately glared at him. "Don't go getting any ideas about fighting Orga, Ozone Breath. He's a Lightning God Slayer and he can eat your lightning just fine. But one other Lightning Wizard tried using Orga's lightning against him and it ended up with Orga being completely unharmed and the other guy was in a freaking coma."

"Can someone help me with this please?" Lucy asked as she continued to fumble with the carseat. Sonya stepped up and over Rai and helped Lucy secure Baby Erika in the seat.

"There we go. But back to your sister and niece. What last name were they using? I have a contact who was in the Magic Counsel who might be able to help us find them. And another one still in the Magic Counsel. Most of Shiratsume had been evacuated by the time the Wizards got there."

"When Alexis was born, Rose legally changed their last name from her mother's last name to Dreyar." Sonya's eyes went wide.

"So Rose and Alexis Dreyar?" Laxus nodded and Sonya smacked her forehead.

"What?"

"Because Rose Dreyar was my contact in the Magic Counsel! And I babysit her daughter, Lexi. To think they're your sister and niece!"

"Are you serious? Where are they?" Laxus asked.

"They live in Magnolia. Last time I saw Rose, she was talking about joining Fairy Tail after New Years." Laxus sat back in his seat and ran a hand through his hair.

"Why didn't she try it before now?" he asked.

"Because she was recruited by the Magic Counsel as an exorcist and was even involved with Lahar…something for a while. Last year they broke up for whatever reason and she moved to Magnolia. She's been moving in, unpacking and even did a couple exorcisms in Magnolia for money. Her big thing is that she only performs exorcisms on objects and places, never on people." Laxus nodded, stunned.

"She's in Magnolia right now?" he asked. Sonya nodded. "Wow. What about Alexis, how's she?"

"She's wonderful. She goes by Lexi with her friends and she and Azuka get along so well, they are two adorable little peas in a pod," Sonya said as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wallet. "I'm fairly certain I have a picture of the two of them in here somewhere… Ah! Here we go." The caramel-haired Wizard pulled out the picture and handed it to the blonde male. He smiled a little as gray eyes so much like his own stared back at him from a small, lightly tanned face with freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks, holding little Azuka in a hug. The two were dressed in little princess dresses and plastic shoes with plastic tiaras on their heads.

"Yea. Yea that's Lexi," he said as he passed the picture back. Sonya handed the picture to Lucy, who cooed at the adorable girls.

"She is so cute! So who do you think she takes more after? Her mother or her father?"

"Like I said, I never met the guy. But I'm guessing the red hair is from her father, and her mother has the palest-white skin I've ever seen in my life so I'm guessing her tan comes from her father," Laxus said as Lucy handed the picture back to Sonya.

"So Sonya, the other day, you mentioned that you knew why Loke would be able to pass through his Gate on his own and then you kinda…didn't," Lucy said. Sonya looked at the two passengers.

"Did I go off on some tangent?" she asked, earning nods from the two. She smacked her forehead. "Dang it! I hate it when I do that. But I get so easily distracted when I'm talking or I'm excited. Sorry."

"You're fine," Lucy said quickly.

"Okay. So how far did I get in explaining?" Sonya asked.

"Um…I remember you said he was the leader of the Zodiac…But I'm not certain after that. You went on about the Ancients," Lucy explained. The caramel-haired female nodded.

"Well. Papa explained it to me like this. As the leader, Loke would need to be able to pass through his own gate in order to protect the other Zodiac. As a result, he has his own magic container. If he opens his own Gate, it'll use his magic for everything he does. But it's still dangerous because the longer he does it, the more painful it will be for him because he's not used to using his magic, he's used to using the Key-Holder's magic."

"Yea. Loke said it took him three months for the pain to stop being 'painful' and more tolerable when he opened his own Gate."

"Yes. But let's say Loke opens his Gate to protect a member of the Zodiac who's being abused by the Key-Holder. By replacing that Spirit, Loke is technically closing the Gate but the Holder's magic registers that the Gate is still open until he return to the Spirit Realm. Thus they are usually unable to open other Gates," Sonya explained. "Papa was the same way. He was the leader of the Silver Keys and had a similar responsibility. And Perseus as the leader of the Iron Heroes is the same way. Oh that reminds me!" Sonya turned around in her seat and pulled out the box of Keys.

"Oh yea, Lucy doesn't know," Laxus said with a smirk.

"Know what?" she asked. Sonya passed her the box and her brown eyes went wide. "Are you serious? The Iron Heroes?"

"Yes, we're serious," Laxus said.

"So we're going to need to figure out when we're going to summon them and Laxus, would you want to see us make contracts and do you think the Thunder Legion will want to see?"

"Maybe. When we get back to Magnolia, we can ask them." Sonya nodded.

"So we can probably do it this afternoon," she said. Lucy closed the box and handed it back. Erika started crying and Lucy started cooing at her as Sonya dug around in the diaper bag until she pulled out the bottle they'd prepared ahead of time. The caramel-haired girl tested the temperature and handed it to Lucy who gently placed it in the baby's mouth.

"That reminds me, what are we going to do about eating?" Lucy asked. Sonya bit her lip and reached into her pouch.

"Hold on a sec," she said before summoning Summer. The wolf appeared holding the package of leftovers from the day before in her mouth.

"Aw, thank you girl," Sonya said as she pulled the cloth from the canine's mouth. Summer sniffed at Rai, who sniffed at her. The wolf let out a little whine and started licking at one of the scratches on the lion's rear. "Aw! Now that is so sweet."

"Yea that really is," Lucy agreed as Summer laid down, draping a paw over Rai's chest and continuing to lick at the healing wounds on his shoulders and legs. He laid back against her and let out a little purring sound. Laxus reached down and scratched under Rai's chin.

"So I have another question," the male said as he ran a hand over the lion's matted mane.

"Yes?" Sonya asked.

"You said yesterday that you had a few people in the Guild that you did not trust, what's that all about?" he asked.

"Well. Of course I try to give everyone I can the benefit of the doubt. But there is just some stuff I can't really look past. The way I was raised, everyone takes art in everything. Everyone works together to achieve a goal. The people I trust are people I've lived with, or people I've gone on jobs with and who I know will have my back. Macao and Wakaba barely took anything I said to heart when I would make suggestions, saying they had everything handled and I shouldn't worry about it, Vijiteer rarely went on jobs, Jet and Droy hardly had my back and most of the jobs ended up falling mostly on me, and then Nab never goes on a job. When the Guild basically moved into where we are now, it really hit me in the face that he never goes on jobs, yet he is able to afford food enough to gain the weight he has, rent, clothes and to pay his membership fees. That shot red flags up in my head," Sonya explained.

"What about Reedus?" Lucy asked.

"Reedus teaches art and he got me into the school I've been attending for college. So I do like and trust him. But he and I haven't really been able to go on any jobs together. He's offered to teach me any painting I want to try but I just haven't had the time."

"So you trust him, but not to the extent of everyone else?" Laxus clarified. Sonya nodded.

"Alzack and Bisca opened up their home to me and Kinana when they got married and Warren, Max, Laki, and Romeo have always had my back on jobs. Thus, I trust them more than most others in the Guild. Lucy, you have Celestial Magic and thus, I know I can trust you. Laxus, you've had my back on this most recent job as well as helped with Twilight Ogre, so I know that I can trust you to have my back. If the Thunder Legion is anything like you guys, I know I'll be able to trust them in no time."

"What about people who've left the Guild? Is there anyone you still trust?" Lucy asked as she pulled the empty bottle from Erika's mouth and placed it in the diaper bag before pulling out the blanket and setting it on her shoulder. She then unbuckled Erika and set her on her shoulder to burp her.

"Um…There are a few I still keep in contact with. But there's one that went to work for the Magic Counsel that I mentioned earlier, Daphne, who I full-heartedly trust."

"Daphne?" Lucy asked. "That name sounds familiar. But why?"

"Maybe because she created that giant mechanical dragon Fairy Tail once fought?" Sonya said. Lucy's eyes went wide and Erika let out a little burp.

"What?!"

"Fairy Tail rehabilitated her and she went to work for the Magic Counsel. As of now, she's one of the leaders in Mechanical-Magical technology," Sonya explained. Lucy buckled Erika into her car seat and sat back in her own seat.

"What am I missing here?" Laxus asked. Lucy sighed.

"Well…You know how Natsu is always looking for Igneel? Gray told him a fake rumor about a girl who claimed to have seen him. Turns out it was a trap laid by Daphne to use Natsu as a living battery for her mechanical dragon. In the end, everything turned out okay but still it was crazy," the blonde female explained.

"That certainly sounds like a mess," the male said.

"Yea, but because we rehabilitated her, and proved we were a good home, the Magic Counsel has no reason to say no to Kinana and I adopting Erika," Sonya said as she untied the cloth around the lunchbox and handed out food.

"If you say so," Laxus said. "Besides, isn't Fairy Tail all about giving people second chances?"

"You have a point," Lucy said as she took a bite of her sandwich. Rai lifted himself up and sniffed at the end of it.

"Rai," Laxus said warningly. The lion moved back but continued to stare at the sandwich.

"So what are you going to do with him?" Lucy asked. "Because he's gotta eat a lot of meat in one day right?"

"Yea, just about 6 Kg a day. But for one thing, I own the nine acres around my house and I'm allowed to hunt privately there."

"So you think you can handle it?" Sonya asked. "In that case, we might want to look into finding a vet to look at those wounds of his and make sure they won't negatively affect him."

"Good point," Laxus said.

"Which does bring up the fact that he's probably hungry right now," Lucy said as she finished her sandwich. Rai sniffed the air again and stood up on the seat. "Whoa."

"Easy boy," Laxus said gently, watching the lion carefully. The feline turned his head to look into the car seat and at Baby Erika.

"Looks like he's curious about her," Sonya said as she moved to sit on the opposite side of the car seat and placed a hand on Rai's nose. "Be gentle boy, she's just a cub." Rai sniffed the infant a couple times before he laid back down with Summer. "Very well done Rai."

"How did you do that?" Lucy asked.

"Do what?"

"Manage to get him to lay back down," Lucy asked.

"On top of that, you basically had him cuddling up with you within ten seconds," Laxus said.

"Well that's just how Papa raised me. I just treat them the way I'd want to be treated," the caramel-haired Wizard explained.

"What else did he teach you?" Lucy asked.

"Well. Basically, the way he taught me was that everything has a soul simply because it exists. And just because they can't communicate the same way we do, doesn't mean they're any less deserving of respect due of a living thing. Like, for people who weren't raised as I was, I suppose it would be like a person who's completely deaf. Just because they can't hear and need to communicate using their hands and body instead of their voice, it doesn't make them any less of a human or any less deserving of the respect due to another living human. Papa taught me that everything has a type of energy, and I need to respect that energy."

"Everything has energy?" Lucy asked. Sonya nodded.

"Remember what I told you about Grandmother Earth and how we're all related because of her? That's how." Laxus let out a light groan.

"Please tell me you're not one of those religious fanatics," he said.

"My way of life is more a way of thinking and being mindful of life around me, not a religion. And if you want to know about the way I live and think, I'll gladly tell you, but no, I am not a fanatic and I will not shove my beliefs down your throat. If you ask me my opinion on matters, my beliefs will influence what I say but I will only explain it if you ask me," Sonya explained.

"I see. Sorry," Laxus said. Sonya held up a hand and shook her head.

"Don't be sorry. You didn't know. Lots of Natives kept tight lipped about their beliefs after the Ancient Raiders, Desert, and Ruins came together to form Fiore and greatly hurt the Natives and even relocated them from their sacred lands. It really is a shame because personally, I think the only way to really come to understand other cultures, they need to be shared. I mean, one of the reasons we still know of the Gods of Ancients is because their cultures have been shared over generations, among numerous people," Sonya said.

"I didn't know about that," Lucy said.

"Because history is written by the victors. Which is why it's always a good idea to do be mindful of who is telling you what and what biases they might have about what you're talking about. Which brings me to another topic," Sonya said.

"Yes?" Laxus asked.

"How are we going to handle teaching Wendy? There's a few approaches we can take to do this but I want to know what you guys think would be most effective."

"Well…when I was being taught, I had lots of tutors on different subjects that sat down with me and worked with me until I understood it," Lucy said. Sonya nodded.

"Maybe having meetings similar to this every now and again so that we can cover what we're planning on teaching and bounce ideas off each other?" Laxus suggested.

"I'm good with that," Sonya said. Lucy nodded her agreement. "And if the Thunder Legion agree to help us out, maybe we could go over specific subjects to cover so no one person is handling too much."

"That sounds good to me," Lucy said as the car came to a stop. Sonya looked out the window.

"Oh. Looks like we're back and it snowed," Sonya said. She moved to sling her bag over her shoulder and Summer and Rai looked out the window. Laxus chuckled and petted Rai's mane and grabbed his pack before following Sonya out of the car. Lucy slipped on her backpack as Sonya slipped the diaper bag over her shoulder and grabbed the box of Keys. The blonde female picked up Erika and wrapped her up in the blanket before leaving the car. Rai and Summer followed her and Sonya sent the Charioteer back to the Celestial Spirit Realm.

The snow crunched under their shoes as the three headed towards the Guild Hall. The loud sounds of a brawl reached the Dragon Slayers' ears and Laxus wrapped an arm around Lucy gently.

Suddenly the doors flew open and a chair came flying out towards the group. Laxus leapt to the side and yanked Lucy with him as Sonya leapt to the opposite side. Erika started crying from the sudden jostle and Laxus almost groaned when the sound made the brawl come to a halt. The three made their way inside and sure enough, everyone was staring at them. Laxus looked at the bar where Mira and Cana were located and saw they were staring at the bundle in Lucy's arms in particular. Then Mira glared at him and slammed her hands down on the bar top, the crack of her famous Satan Soul marring her features.

"LAXUS!" she roared as she launched herself over the bar right at him. Before she got even halfway there, the Thunder Legion threw themselves in front of their leader and Rai stood before them and opened his massive mouth as far as it would go and released a roar at the She-Devil. Mira hovered in midair. "Move out of my way."

"Not happening Mira," Evergreen snapped. Mira glared at Laxus.

"I told you to stay away from her! I don't know what you did but I swear Laxus-"

"Mira!" Sonya snapped as she and Summer came around the group to stand beside Rai. "First off, we've been gone one day, not nearly long enough for a baby to be born. Second off, she's not Laxus or Lucy's at all. I'm the one adopting Erika. Third, you should really show at least half a shred of respect and ask questions before jumping to conclusions." Mira grit her teeth and returned to normal. Bisca came up smiling brightly as a sulking Mira went back to the bar.

"So this is the famous little Miss Erika?" she asked. Lucy nodded.

"Want to hold her?"

"May I?" Lucy handed the infant over to the green-haired woman, who held her up so the baby looked down at her. "Hi Erika. Hi sweetie. Oh my you're so cute." Bisca set Erika in the crook of her arm and tapped her nose with the tip of her finger. Kinana came up and hugged Sonya.

"So glad you're home," she said before turning to the lion standing next to her. "Did we make a new friend?"

"Laxus did apparently," Sonya explained as she reached down and petted Rai's head. The lion turned around and went right back to Laxus.

"He likes the name Rai," the blonde male said as he set his pack down against the wall and turned to shut the doors before heading over to an empty table. The Thunder Legion joined him and Lucy's team leapt to their feet.

"Lucy!" they cried as they rushed over. Bisca leapt out of the way of the barreling trio. Erza grabbed the Celestial Wizard and all but smashed the blonde's head into the armored chest.

"Thank heavens you're safe!" she cried. "We were so worried when we couldn't find you!"

"Erza…I can't breathe," Lucy managed as she struggled to escape Erza's bruising grip. Sonya came over and grabbed Erza's wrist, pulling away enough so Lucy could free herself. The redhead glared.

"Sorry. It's just that you three blatantly ignored the fact that Bisca and a newborn were in your way and the Lucy said she couldn't breathe and then you didn't let go at all. It's completely unnecessary to suffocate her."

"We're Lucy's team, she goes on jobs with us and when she's missing we worry about her how we want!" Natsu objected.

"Cool it Natsu." Sonya looked around at the Guild that was staring at the group. "I need to speak with the three of you and Lucy. In private if you don't mind."

"Whatever you have to say to us, you can say right here," Erza said, placing her hands on her hips. Sonya narrowed her eyes as some of the uninvolved Guild members began putting the Guild back together. Laxus turned in his seat to watch the group.

"What I want to say should not be said in public like this. It is private matters between the three of you and myself based on private affairs Lucy entrusted to me. Now I'll say it again, let's find someplace private to discuss this." Gray crossed his arms over his chest and Erza glared.

"We'll discuss this here," she said again. Laxus stood up and came over to Lucy.

"Lucy, would you like to come sit with my team?"

"That sounds good, but I think I should stay with Sonya in case something happens," she said.

"Lucy's a member of our team Laxus!" Natsu yelled as he leapt up and threw a punch at the hulking blonde. Laxus glared and threw a hand up to catch Natsu's fist and then threw him down into the floor.

"Here's an idea. Sonya, if you wouldn't mind, I could ask Freed to put up a rune barrier around you all so you can have your privacy," Laxus suggested.

"I would appreciate that. Freed?" The green-haired Wizard stood up and pulled out his rapier.

"Of course. Just a moment."

"Thank you Freed," Sonya said. Within a moment, the Runes came up around the group. Laxus and Freed sat back down at the table with their team.

"Alright then. Since you three are going to be so stubborn about it, we'll have our discussion here," Sonya said.

"So what are these matters Lucy would entrust with you and not with us? We're her team, meanwhile, you're a complete stranger," Erza asked.

"I'm a Celestial Wizard," Sonya said calmly. "Lucy told me that you three cause quite the number of troubles for her. All of which, in my view, are highly disrespectful on multiple levels."

"Disrespectful?!" Erza cried. "We're her best friends, how could we possibly disrespect her?"

"In the manner of how you three break into her home, sift through her underwear, eat all her food, and even slip into bed with her without her permission. That's disrespectful," Sonya said. She turned to Lucy quickly. "Lucy, you don't need to be here if you don't want to be. I can level my complaints with them myself."

"No. I'll stay here. I told you about this stuff so I should be involved in this," the blonde said solemnly.

"I'm sorry," the caramel-haired Celestial Wizard said before turning back to the trio.

"We're her team," Natsu defended.

"That excuse does nothing in order to alleviate what you all have done to Lucy," Sonya snapped. "And as a fellow Celestial Wizard, as well as a Dragon Slayer and a member of Fairy Tail, I refuse to allow this abuse of Lucy to continue! It honestly makes my blood boil when I think about simply what I mentioned before, not to mention individual complaints Lucy has mentioned."

"I have always done what I can to keep the boys from offending her," Erza said. "If I need to do so more, all Lucy need do is ask and I shall right the wrongs."

"Be quiet," Sonya snarled, earning her a surprised look from the entire group, including Lucy. "Normally it takes a great deal more to make me as angry as I am now. But the fact that this blatant abuse of Lucy has occurred since she moved to Magnolia, and it has only gotten worse as it continued, downright irks me. And the fact you three are completely ignorant of your own actions nearly makes me tremble in anger."

"Abuse?! How dare you!" Erza snapped.

"We never try to hurt her, but when we're in a fight with other people who use magic, other people might get hurt," Gray defended.

"That is not what I meant at all," Sonya snapped. "What I mean is abuse doesn't always mean bruises. It's mental and emotional. And that's what Lucy has been enduring since she stepped foot in Fairy Tail. You three do not speak for her, as she could never belong to you. So the next time you want to say that you've never harmed Lucy, try to think of all the times you've had fights in Lucy's apartment and some part of the building or her things got destroyed, or the last time you ate all her food, or ruined her clothing, or even the last time she gave you your own clothes or was crushed against your armored chest and croaked that she couldn't breathe," the caramel-haired woman snapped before grabbing Lucy's arm and storming out of the runes and over to the Thunder Legion.

"How did it go?" Laxus asked. Sonya stopped at the table and released Lucy's arm.

"Badly. I'm going on a walk to calm down. Lucy, will you look after Erika for me?" The blonde nodded and turned to Bisca, who handed over the infant immediately. Sonya left the building for her walk and Freed pulled out a chair for Lucy and the blonde sat down with the team. Evergreen leaned over and looked at the child.

"Well, well, she's certainly cute," the brunette said.

"Yea she is," Lucy agreed. Her brown eyes flicked towards Bickslow, whose helmet was resting on the table, so his tattoo was on display. His Corpse Yard tattoo.

Erika began crying, offering Lucy the perfect excuse to leave the table and avoid awkward questions. The blonde quickly made her way to a restroom to change the infant's diaper.

 

Snow began to gently fall as Sonya made her way through Magnolia's South Gate Park. Some kids were running around in their winter clothes playing and parents stood in groups talking amongst each other.

"Miss Sonya!" Sonya turned around and smiled brightly at the redheaded girl who ran up to her and the Wizard picked up the child. The little girl wore a dark navy coat with a fake fur ring around the hood, purple mittens, black snowpants and boots and a red scarf wrapped around her neck.

"Hey there little Miss Lexi!" she cheered as she tossed the child into the air and caught her again. Lexi's gray-blue eyes twinkled merrily as her giggles shook her shoulders. "What're ya doing here?"

"I'm playing with Mommy," she said, turning to face a woman that came walking up behind her. The woman was dressed in a matching navy coat, a pair of jeans, and thick black boots and had mid-back-length blonde hair with red tips as beautiful gray-blue eyes like her daughter.

"Hey there Rose," Sonya said as the woman approached. Rose wrapped her arms around Sonya with a bright smile.

"Hello Sonya," she said gently. "Did you just finish a job?"

"Yes I did." Sonya looked at Lexi and then to Rose. "With your brother." Rose's eyes widened.

"What?"

"Yea. Laxus is back, as well as everyone who was on Tenrou when Acnologia attacked. He's at the Hall right now," the caramel-haired teenager said.

"Is he really?" Rose breathed, a bare hand coming up to her mouth.

"Yea. Wanna come see him?" Rose nodded. Sonya hugged her comfortingly and then reached one hand down for Lexi's. The redheaded child took it happily and skipped along as Sonya and Rose made their way towards the Guild Hall.

 

Lucy came back to the table with a happy Erika and sat back down next to Evergreen. Out of the corner of her eye, Lucy saw her team seated at another table, glaring at the Thunder Legion.

"Ah Miss Lucy, is all well with Erika?" Freed asked. The blonde turned back to the group she was seated with.

"Yea. She just needed a diaper change," Lucy said as she set the diaper bag on the floor. "So what's up?"

"Well, Laxus informed us of Miss Sonya's hopes of educating Wendy," the green-haired Wizard said.

"Oh yea, Sonya wanted to ask if you guys would be interested in helping us with that."

"Sure thing!" Bickslow cheered. "This'll be fun!"

"On top of that, with the lot of us as her teachers, Wendy will be the very best in no time," Evergreen said cheerfully. The doors opened again and Sonya came in with Lexi and Rose.

"Oh Rose, Lexi, welcome to the Guild!" Kinana greeted. Rose nodded at the purple-haired woman as Laxus looked over his shoulder. He slowly stood up, his eyes never once leaving the woman.

"Do you know her Laxus?" Freed asked as he stood up.

"Yes I do," the blonde said as he began walking forward. Rose turned and caught sight of him. She covered her mouth as tears began welling in her eyes. She held onto her daughter's hand tightly as Laxus neared the two. "Hey Rose," he said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Hey jackass," she replied before she released her daughter's hand and threw her arms around her brother's waist. It took a moment for Laxus to wrap one arm around his sister. "I was scared you'd died in a ditch somewhere."

"Sorry I scared ya sis," he said before looking towards Lexi. "So you're Lexi?" The redheaded child nodded as Rose pulled back.

"Come here sweetie. I want you to meet your Uncle Laxus." Lexi walked up and hid behind her mother as she looked at Laxus.

"Uncle Laxus?" she asked.

"Yea. This is Mommy's big brother," Rose said.

"Big brother?!" the Guild yelled. Erika began crying again, causing Lucy to start trying to calm her and Sonya come over to her.

"Yes, big brother. As in Ivan decided to have another kid and she was the result," Laxus said. "Allow me to introduce you properly. This is my younger half-sister, Rose, and her daughter, Lexi." Rose smiled and Lexi hid behind her mother again. Makarov sat frozen in his seat as he stared at the girls. Rose took her daughter's hand again and neared the old man.

"Hello Grandfather. It's nice to meet you," she said with a gentle smile. Lexi waved. Makarov blinked a few times before Rose started giggling. "I didn't give him a heart attack, did I?" she asked.

"No clue," Laxus said with a shrug and a chuckle. "I think you just short-circuited the old man's brain for a bit."


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More discoveries as Sonya and Lucy form their new contracts.

Rose took a seat at the table with the Thunder Legion as her daughter crawled underneath it to sit with Rai. Laxus watched his niece for a few minutes as she poked at the lion's nose a few times then wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into his mane. The massive feline simply acted as if the child wasn't there.

"Only you bro," Rose said, earning her brother's attention.

"Hm?"

"Only you would take in a lion and then get super-concerned when a little kid gets near the 90 Kg beast." Laxus rolled his eyes at his sister as Lucy handed Baby Erika to Sonya.

"Well, there's all types," he said, checking under the table again. Lexi had started scratching circles into Rai's belly and the lion was laying back to allow her. "Looks like he likes her though." Rose looked under the table and smiled.

"What can I say? She just has this way with animals. Imagine the heart attack I almost had when I tried taking her to a zoo."

"What happened?" Bickslow asked. Rose pressed her fingers into her temple.

"Somehow, a freaking gorilla picked her up and put her on his back. She was laughing her head off about it but it honestly terrified me. When I yelled her name, he put her right back down next to me and went on his merry way," she said with a sigh. Sonya looked down at the little girl under the table.

"Did her father have magic or did anything like that happen in your mother's family?" she asked.

"My mother was a whore. The only magic she had was her silver-tongue that she used to manipulate everyone. So yea, Lexi's father had magic. Some sort of telepathy I believe." Laxus looked under the table again and saw his niece gently untangling some of the matts still in Rai's mane.

"Are you certain of that?" Freed asked.

"Fairly certain," Rose said with a nod. "Between this lion, the gorilla and the cat at home, I wouldn't doubt that she has some kind of animal telepathy."

"Nor would I," Sonya agreed. Rose smiled and peered over her shoulder at Erika.

"Who's this?" she asked gently.

"Erika. I'm adopting her." Rose smiled at the newborn who let out a little squeal and reached up with her arms.

"Well, she's cute, but I got ya beat Sonya," the scarlet-tipped blonde teased as she reached down and ruffled her daughter's hair.

"Mommy," the child half-complained, half-giggled.

"Also, quick question, why do I feel like holes are being bored into my back?" Rose turned around as she asked the question to see Team Natsu scowling at the Thunder Legion. "And their problem is?"

"I gave them a harsh talking to about their treatment of Lucy," Sonya whispered. "Its private stuff so unless Lucy gives permission I don't feel comfortable relaying the details." Rose nodded.

"I can respect that, however, given the way they looked pumped up for a fight, and what I know from my time in the Counsel, I think I understand what's going on. Lucy decided she'd had enough of Team Time-Bomb over there and decided to stand up for herself?"

"Lucy decided nothing! Sonya tricked her!" Natsu roared as he stood up and launched himself, fists blazing, at the other team. Rose shot to her feet, leapt up onto the table and shot into the air, landing a solid punch to the side of Natsu's head, sending him flying across the room. The woman twisted in midair and landed in a crouch on the table.

"My goodness, you okay?" Sonya asked as the scarlet-tipped blonde slipped off the table.

"Yea, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well it looked like that fire got pretty darned close, that's why," the caramel-haired Wizard explained. Rose shrugged.

"I'm fine. But something tells me we should get out of here in case the other two try something as well," she suggested, looking over her shoulder. "If they follow us, there's less likely to be other casualties." Laxus nodded and Lucy picked up the box of Keys from the table.

"And Sonya and I have contracts to make," she said with a grin.

"Would you guys like to see how Celestial Wizards make contracts with Celestial Spirits?" Sonya offered.

"I do!" Lexi cheered as she moved to get up from under the table, resulting in the top of her head smacking on the underside of the wood. All the women cringed at the sound and Rai made a noise of concern as the child slowly made her way out, rubbing the painful area gently. Rai came out after her and licked the spot, making her hair stand up. Rose chuckled slightly and picked her daughter up to set her on a chair.

"You okay honey?" Lexi nodded quickly.

"I gotta thick skull," she said. Rose chuckled again and kissed her daughter's cheek before pulling her hood up and holding her hand to let her hop off the chair.

"She got that from my side, definitely," the mother said as the group chuckled. Sonya went over to Bisca, who took Erika off her hands for the time. The Thunder Legion left the Guild and headed towards an empty portion of the yard. It didn't escape anyone's notice when Team Natsu cracked open the door and watched the group carefully.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Lucy asked as she and Sonya set the box in the snow and opened the lid.

"Well, we summon one each and ask who they want to form a contract with, and let them choose. How does that sound?" Lucy nodded her agreement and each girl reached in and grabbed one Key at a time until the box was empty. "Ready?"

"Ready." The two girls each held out one Key.

"I call to thee in the world of the Celestial Spirits. I beckon you to my side. Pass through the Gate!" the girls called in unison. Before each of them appeared a small circle of light and out popped two small animals. In front of Sonya was a little green lizard with tiny spines on the underside of his jaw, and before Lucy appeared a little red fox that started chasing its tail.

"Vulpecula and Lacerta. Otherwise known as the Little Fox and the Lizard respectively," Sonya said.

"Aw! They're so cute," Lucy cooed. Lacerta looked at Lucy and moved over to her, wrapping himself around her leg. Vulpecula let out a little yipping noise at Sonya.

"Hello there. I'm Sonya and this is Lucy. We were wondering which of us you wanted to form a contract with?" Vulpecula leapt up into Sonya's arms and cuddled into her neck as Lacerta wrapped tighter around Lucy's leg. "I think they've made their choices."

"Yea." Lucy pulled Lacerta off her leg and held him in her arms. The two worked out the finer points of their contracts on paper before dismissing the two Spirits and summoning the next two. Both Spirits looked like horses but they were so tall that the tips of their noses would've touched the top of Laxus' head. One was bay-colored and looked normal, the other was pure white and had a pair of feathery wings sprouting from his shoulders.

"Good day to you my ladies," he said as he bowed his head.

"Hello," Lucy said as the bay horse came up and bumped her shoulder with his nose.

"Hello to you Pegasus. My name is Sonya and this is Lucy. We were wondering if you would want to form a contract with one of us." The Pegasus threw his head back with a whinny.

"Absolutely! It would be my pleasure to form a contract with Lady Lucy," he said as he moved over and bumped the horse's nose away from Lucy. The bay nickered and moved over to Sonya instead.

"Oh thank you Pegasus," Lucy said before turning to face Laxus and his team, barely able to contain her excitement.

"It is my pleasure, Lady Lucy," Pegasus said as he sniffed her hair before starting to chew on a part of it. Sonya covered a light giggle as Lucy pulled her hair from the horse's mouth.

"Please don't do that."

"My apologies. It looked like hay," the creature said.

The two Wizards finalized the details and summoned the next pair. Before Lucy stood a giraffe that looked at her curiously. Before Sonya stood a woman dressed in a green dress that reached her knees before the back curled around itself a few times. A matching hood rested on her head. She had copper-colored skin, black hair and bright green eyes that seemed to glow in the shadows caused by her hood.

"Hello to you Celestial Wizards," she said with a dramatic bow.

"Hello. You're Chameleon, right?" Sonya said. "And that's Camelopardis?" She pointed at the beast that was now nuzzling Lucy affectionately.

"Yes mi'lady," the Chameleon said. "It would appear that Camelopardis is hoping to form a contract with the blonde lady. If it be agreeable with you, I would like to form a contract with you Lady…"

"Sonya. And I prefer being called Sonya over Master or anything like that." The Chameleon nodded.

"In that case Lady Sonya, please call me Camille." Sonya nodded and the two Wizards finalized their contracts before summoning the next pair. Once Lucy finished the incantation, there was a slight rumbling noise through the air before a heavy stream of water appeared and picked the woman up.

"Oh my gosh! Lucy!' Sonya cried as the water curled in midair and continued moving around before depositing Lucy in a soaking wet heap in the snow. The blonde coughed up some water and wiped at her face. The Thunder Legion rushed over to her. "Are you okay?!" the caramel-haired woman asked.

"Yea. I think so. That was the Celestial River, right?" she asked as Laxus draped his coat over her shoulders.

"Yea. I think he likes you."

"Well, in that case I'll form a contract with him. But next time I summon him, I'll wear my bathing suit under my clothes. And not summon him until Spring." Sonya nodded.

"Good idea," she said before turning to her own Spirit.

"I know that Spirit. That's Caelum, the Chisel," Lucy pointed out. The Spirit beeped a couple times.

"Oh I see. Absolutely."

"You understood that?" Bickslow asked. Sonya nodded.

"Yep. Just a little trick Papa taught me."

"Think you could teach me?" Lucy asked. Sonya tossed the blonde Caelum's Key and smirked.

"Absolutely. And considering you're the one Caelum wants to form a contract with, you'll need it," she said with a smirk.

"Are you serious? That's awesome!" Lucy cheered as she placed the Keys on her ring. "I might need a new Key ring after this." Sonya chuckled as the Chisel disappeared and the two summoned the next pair of Spirits.

Before Lucy appeared a massive brownish-black scaly body roughly the size of a horse. Right at the base of the neck, five snake-like necks stretched upwards, each one holding a reptilian head that looked very much like a King Cobra with the Hoods all stretched as far as they would go. The feet were much like Lacerta's in terms of how they were bent and shaped but the claws adorning them were the deepest shade of black Lucy had ever seen and the toes curled to grip the ground under the snow.

Before Sonya appeared a male human figure that was dressed in a pair of red pants, pale brown moccasins, and a loose-fitting shirt. A brown bear skin rested on his shoulders in such a way that the paws looked to be holding to him. Over his face, the upper half of the bear's massive mouth covered the upper half of his own. A long braid of black hair hung over his shoulder with a couple of eagle feathers tied to the end.

"He-hello," Lucy squeaked to the massive beast in front of her. A couple heads flicked their forked tongues out to taste the air. The middle one moved closer to her.

"I am Hydra," it said with a raspy voice. It sounded something akin to sandpaper on wood.

"I'm Lucy. My friend, Sonya and I were wondering if you'd be willing to form a contract with one of us?" Hydra smelled her a few more times before looking to Sonya.

"I sense that Lady Sonya is a Dragon Slayer, correct?" Lucy nodded.

"Yes, she is."

"Then I will form a contrct with her. No offense intended Lady Lucy," the reptile said.

"None taken, don't worry." Hydra turned to watch Sonya and the man.

"Good day to you, young one," the man said.

"Good day to you as well. You are Indus, the Native, correct?" The man nodded.

"And I already know the reason for my being summoned. As do my sister and brother when you summon them, Child of the Dragon Stars."

"If that is the case, with whom would you like to form a contract?" Sonya asked.

"With you, Shenandoah," the man said with a kind smile. The caramel-haired Wizard nodded and made quick work of finalizing her contracts with Hydra and Indus before sending them back. She wobbled on her feet slightly and Rose took hold of her shoulders.

"Maybe you two should hold off for right now," she suggested. Sonya shook her head.

"One more Spirit apiece. Lucy, you think you can handle it?" The blonde nodded. "I can summon a few Zodiac Spirits a day so while I understand it's more energy at one time, it shouldn't be too much, right?" Sonya nodded and the two spoke the incantation one more time.

Just like Indus, the two Iron Heroes appeared before the girls. Before Lucy stood a woman dressed in purple and lavender silks that moved all around her, obscuring her face from view. Before Sonya stood a man dressed in a blue breastplate with a matching helmet on his face with a darker blue plume of horsehair coming from the top. He carried a short sword on his hip, a dark blue shield on his arm and a spear in his hand. A midnight-blue cloth was wrapped around his waist and went down to his knees.

"Lady Lucy Heartfilia. It is an honor to meet you. I am Andromeda," the woman said with a bow. Lucy made as much of a curtsey as she could in her coat. Andromeda's voice sounded like the very silks she was draped in.

"A pleasure to meet the daughter of the Dragon Constellation," the man said. "I am Perseus." Sonya curtsied as well.

"As it is an honor to meet the two of you," the caramel-haired Wizard said.

"We are aware that you two have summoned us to form contracts with you," Andromeda said. "I will form a contract with Lady Lucy, and my brother will form one with Lady Sonya." The girls bowed again.

"Thank you both," Lucy said.

"It is us who should be thanking you. It is an honor to be tied in contract with members of one of the Bloodline Packs."

"Perseus!" Andromeda scolded.

"Bloodline Packs? What is he talking about?" Lucy asked. Andromeda and Perseus looked at each other and Andromeda sighed.

"To be a member of one of the Bloodlines is to be descended from the literal Celestial beings that you summon. The stories from the Ancients of demigods who were born of gods and mortals were the offspring of Celestial beings such as Leo the Lion, Lupus the Wolf, or even the Furnace." Lucy blinked.

"Wait! You mean to say I'm like Loke's…great-by-thirty-something granddaughter?!" she cried.

"I do not sense the Lion within you," Andromeda said. "I sense the presence of the Big Bear most prominently."

"So…I'm part bear?" the blonde deadpanned.

"In actuality my lady, in the Ancient times, all Celestial Beings had forms like those of my brother and myself. You're already aware of Leo the Lion and how he almost died in this realm, correct?" Lucy nodded. "Leo was not the first one to be punished by my father in such a way. Many Spirits have suffered that cruelty. With each one's death, the next incarnation of that Spirit was more like the name of the constellation than before. Like how Taurus the Bull now resembles a bull who can speak your tongue, or Lupus the Wolf now appears before you as a wolf," the purple-dressed woman explained.

"I see," Lucy said, her eyes darkening in sadness. Sonya wrapped an arm around the girl and offered a gentle smile.

"And by Pack, do you two mean the same type of Pack that Drago taught me as a child?" the caramel-haired Wizard asked. The two Iron Heroes nodded. "And you're saying Lucy and I are in one Pack?" The two nodded again and Sonya's eyes went wide. "What?!"

"Not on my watch!" Natsu roared as he burst from the Guild Hall, racing towards the two Iron Heroes. He leapt into the air and sucked in a breath. "Fire Dragon ROAR!" A column of flame burst from him mouth and shot right at the two Heroes, the Celestial Wizards standing right behind their Spirits. Sonya leapt into the air.

"Get down!" she yelled at the Heroes, who ducked on her order. "Celestial Dragon ROAR!" Fire and Plasma clashed in midair and canceled each other out. Natsu and Sonya landed and the salmon-haired male snarled.

"You're not taking her away!" he yelled. Sonya stood up straight and glared at the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"You're right. I'm not. She's choosing to be here with me," she said. Natsu snarled, his fangs baring themselves in warning. "Don't try it Natsu, because believe me, you won't win."

"Wish I had a Jewel every time someone said that to me," Natsu growled before he charged forward. "Before I kicked their butts!" The male swung his fire-covered fists, only to strike at empty air as Sonya ducked, dodged and flipped over him to avoid the attacks. The salmon-haired Wizard's frustration grew with each missed attack. "Quit running and fight me!" he roared.

"I'm not just going to let you hit me," Sonya said calmly before she dropped to the ground and swung a leg, catching Natsu's and sending him onto his back. The female flipped herself over so one of her feet landed on each of Natsu's sides and her rump landed on his chest, keeping him pinned. Her hands shot forward and pinned his wrists to the ground as she glared into his eyes. "For the sake of the friendship you so desperately want to keep with Lucy, grow up Dragneel. And start learning some common sense. I didn't choose to make her a part of my Pack, nor did she. It is not a choice. And before you get angry. Perhaps there's one more question we should ask the Iron Heroes."

"And what's that?" Natsu asked. Sonya looked up at the Heroes.

"I'm not an Alpha. And I know Lucy isn't one either. So who's the Alpha of our Pack?" she asked. Andromeda looked to the side where Lucy was standing, still wearing Laxus' coat around her shoulders. Then she looked at the male himself and gestured to him. "Ah, shit," Sonya muttered as Natsu roared in anger.

"LAXUS!" Natsu's pupils slitted, his fangs prodded at his lips, scales appeared on his face and fire began to shoot from his hands and feet. Lexi whimpered and moved to hide behind her mother as Laxus moved to stand in front of his team and family. Sonya quickly swung a fist, making it connect with Natsu's head, effectively knocking him out. The woman sighed and stood up before heading over to Lucy. The blonde cast a confused look to the caramel-haired Wizard.

"That was scary!" Lexi cried as her mother picked her up and held her gently.

"My lady Sonya," Perseus said. "I can sense both yours and Lady Lucy's magic power is beginning to run low. My sister and I shall return to the Spirit Realm for now." With that, the two Heroes vanished.

Almost immediately, both girls dropped to their knees in the snow. Laxus and the Thunder Legion hurried over and helped the girls sit up.

"You two okay?" Rose asked. Sonya nodded.

"Yea, we'll be fine. We just used a lot of magic power with those two," she explained, panting. She cast a glance at Laxus then quickly looked away.

"What were you three talking about? I get the Bloodline thing but Packs weren't explained at all," Bickslow said. Sonya nodded.

"This might be…a tad…complicated," she admitted. "Can we go inside first?" Laxus and Bickslow picked up Lucy and Sonya respectively and Freed and Evergreen hurried inside. Rose walked along next to her brother, carrying her daughter on her hip.

Once they were inside, Rose went over to Kinana and asked for some food and drink for the table. The purple-haired woman was quick to bring the girls some soup and tea as well as mugs of warm cider for everyone else. Sonya ate as quickly as her trembling hands would allow, but it still took the better part of half an hour for her to finish.

"So what were the Heroes talking about in terms of Packs? And why did Natsu get so pissed when Andromeda mentioned me?" Laxus asked. Lucy continued to slowly sip at her tea but her eyes were on Sonya as were those of the entire Thunder Legion and Rose.

"Dragons, and their Slayers as a consequence, form Packs. Usually there's four members to a pack; the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Omega. Apparently, Lucy and I are two members of one Pack and Laxus is supposed to be our Alpha," the caramel-haired Wizard said solemnly.

"And that means?" BIckslow asked. Sonya chuckled.

"Well, according to Dragon Law, it's equivalent of Lucy and I being engaged to Laxus." The entire table was silent. Lucy slowly set her cup down.

"How?" she asked. Sonya shrugged.

"Dragon Slayers find people whose magic and/or personality fit an ideal Mate. Like for a stubborn dragons, they find an equally stubborn person to be a member of their Pack. Some Packs have only two people, some have three, but the maximum anyone has ever heard of in a single intimate Pack, is four members. Or in the case of our lightning rod here, his best chance towards finding suitable Mates is to find Wizards who use magic that he could also use, such as Celestial, Water, Air and Light, or another Lightning. Maybe even Iron by a stretch."

"Hell no!" Gajeel yelled from the bar before he continued chomping on iron scraps.

"Okay then," Sonya said awkwardly as she shifted in her seat. Laxus sighed.

"Sonya, is there any way of telling who a member of the Pack is supposed to be?" Laxus asked. Sonya thought about it for a second and shook her hand some.

"It's rare, but not impossible. Sometimes when a Pack has members who are highly compatible, they'll release shocks when they touch each other. Particularly in their sleep. Something about REM Cycles and our guards on our magic being down? But there's also a balancing act that happens as the Pack is established. If one member has more magic power than the others, then the others will gain an increase in power while the other decreases until all of the members have an even amount of magic power, and it grows from there," she said. Laxus' eyes widened. "What?"

"I saw that last night. You and Lucy touched hands and there was a spark. It released a wave of magic power that had my chest clenching," he explained. Sonya's eyes went wide.

"That's it!" she cried.

"What's it?" the male asked.

"The reason you kept waking up, the reason part of my dream was missing and the reason for Lucy feeling so tired! Our powers were finding their balancing point. You kept waking up because you had too much energy, you needed to burn it off. Lucy was so tired because as a purely Celestial Wizard, more of her magic was used turning from Celestial into Lightning! And part of my dream was missing because I had the most magic power of the three of us. I'm not just saying that, I can open multiple Gates at one time, and even open an Iron Gate which is a few times harder to open than Lucy's Golden Zodiac," Sonya explained.

"This is giving me a headache," Lucy groaned. Rose ran a hand over Lucy's hair, avoiding the place where Pegasus had decided to nibble.

"So what happens now?" the scarlet-tipped blonde asked.

"Well, we're supposed to grow. In terms of how close we are to each other and magic power, if I remember everything Papa told me correctly."

"How can we know for certain though?" Laxus asked. "Maybe there's something else this fits that you're forgetting or that Draco never told you. Can't you just use Draco's Key and summon him?"

"I would if I could," Sonya said with a sigh. "I had Papa's Key when I was a child. But one night I put it where I always do and in the morning it was gone. I combed every inch of our cave but couldn't find it."

"Can I say something?" Rose asked, putting a hand up, earning her the attention of those assembled at the table. "How is this going to affect Erika?"

"Um….She'd be growing up with two female role models and one male as it stands now. That may change later on but they both took good care of her. And while Laxus was kinda uncomfortable at first, he never reacted 'badly' to her. I didn't sense frustration from him at least when we woke up this morning," Sonya said.

"Then I have no other worries to bring up," the mother said as she sat back in her chair.

"Are you serious?" Freed asked.

"Well, what else should I be concerned about? Laxus divulged to me in Shiratsume that he found Lucy attractive and he and Sonya seem to get along quite well. If the Pack has only just started developing, it makes sense that none of them really have deep feelings for each other yet. Maybe they develop down the road or they're simply not aware of it right now," Rose said with a shrug. "But to you three, after all the bullshit your lives have thrown at you, are you honestly going to throw away what fate is throwing in your laps? Close connections with people who could, to some extent, understand where you're coming from in terms of pain."

"But…" Lucy started but then she immediately started sipping at her tea again, as if thinking that remaining silent was the better idea.

"Lucy? You had something to say?" Sonya asked.

"I was going to say that it would be wrong for both of us to be with Laxus at the same time," she said quietly.

"She has a point. Fiore Law doesn't allow it," Evergreen said. Sonya shrugged.

"I don't know where I'm from. For all I know, I could come from a country that allows it. But then again, Celestial Law allows for laws of the creatures it houses, such as Draconic law, where we get this idea from in the first place," Sonya pointed out.

"She has a point," Rose supported. "For right now, I'd suggest you guys just get to know each other at you own pace and see where it goes from there. Fair?"

"I agree with that," Sonya said as Rose stood up and collected her daughter.

"You two leaving?" Laxus asked.

"Yea. We gotta get home soon and start turning in for the night. We got some big plans before the New Years."

"In that case, I'll walk you home," Laxus said as he stood up.

"Okay then. In that case, how about you have dinner with us and we can catch up," Rose offered.

"Sounds like a plan to me. See you guys tomorrow," Laxus said as he left the Guild with his sister and niece. Rai followed after him.

"See ya tomorrow Laxus!" Sonya said over the other Thunder Legion's calls.

"Good night!" Lucy called. Lexi looked over her mother's shoulder and waved good-bye.

"Bye!" she replied cutely.

 

"Well, here we are," Rose said as she came to a stop. Laxus froze and almost groaned. "What is it?"

"Lucy lives here," he said.

"Are you serious?" Rose burst into laughter. "What do you think about that Lexi? Our neighbor is Miss Lucy."

"YAY!" Lexi cheered, stretching her hands into the air. Rose chuckled before heading inside and to her apartment on the first floor. The layout was slightly different. Rose's apartment had a couch and chair set around a small coffee table set up in the first room the front door opened into, with a kitchen separated only by a small counter with a couple stools set up next to it. Bookshelves covered every open portion of wall not touched by the windows or furniture. There was one door along the wall next to the front door that lead to the bathroom. Then there was a door in the back of the kitchen that likely lead to the girls' bedrooms.

Rose and Lexi took off their winter wear and hung them on the hooks next to the door, and left their boots by the door, leaving them in socks, jeans and a long-sleeved shirt each. Rai sniffed at the snow still on their boots and started licking as Laxus slipped out of his shoes and hung his coat up.

Rose went over to the kitchen and started getting stuff together for dinner, Lexi trotted off to her room and Laxus sat himself down at the counter.

"Any help ya need?" Laxus asked, earning him an odd look from his sister.

"Need none, I do," she replied before letting out a bark of a laugh. "So. Any plans for Christmas Eve have you?" Laxus glared at then shook his head at his sister's antics.

"No. I don't have any plans for Christmas Eve. You and Lexi?"

"Well, we're actually doing it over the next couple days as well. I'm in charge of the Kardia Cleanup Project here," Rose said as she pulled some defrosted pork from the refrigerator and set it in a pan to cook with some olive oil. Rai came around the counter and sniffed at Rose before rubbing his head on her hip and purring.

"Rai," Laxus called, trying to keep the beast from knocking his sister over.

"I think he likes what I was working with this morning," she said with a giggle.

"And what was that?"

"A project for the zoo. They wanted a catnip toy for their big cats and I just finished a few. We're taking them there early in the morning before we head to Kardia. I think I have something in here with some extra…" Rose reached into a cupboard and pulled out a burlap sack sewn shut. She tossed it a couple times before throwing it into the living room. Rai chased it and slammed his paws on it before rubbing his face on the fabric.

"What was that? Catnip?"

"You bet," Rose said as she shut the cupboard and returned to her cooking.

"You're still stuck on working with herbs?"

"Stuck on it? It's currently how I feed my daughter," she snapped playfully. "It's more of a side business than anything else. People ask me if I can make them a tea or salve or poultice for something and I do what I can. But I'm no doctor."

"So what's the Kardia Cleanup Project?" Laxus asked to change the subject, earning him a slight glare from his sister.

"Basically, we take any volunteers we can and just clean up Kardia Cathedral however we can," she explained.

"Alright. So you guys spend a couple days doing this?" the male asked. Rose nodded.

"Tomorrow is the assessment of damages through the year and what we'll be cleaning up. Then the day after tomorrow we do a basic cleanup, which means taking care of garbage and the like. Then on Christmas Eve we do everything we can which involves mopping, dusting, windows, and setting up and decorating the giant tree that stands outside the Cathedral. Then some moms bake cookies for local kids." Laxus rested his chin in his hand and hummed as his sister grabbed a platter for dinner and started setting the counter with three plates, glasses and sets of silverware.

"Sounds like a lot to do."

"It is. We're pretty tired afterwards," she said. As she began setting the food into the platter and the used pots and pans into the sink. Laxus watched for a second before chuckling. "What?"

"I remember a certain little lady who couldn't stand not using measuring cups and spoons every time she cooked. Now she's only using pots, pans and knives, not a cup or spoon in sight." Rose shook her head and set the food on the counter.

"Well, with a kid, I learned to cook quickly. I have an approximate idea of how much is enough and go from there," she said with a shrug. "On top of that, this stuff is fairly easy to make."

"What is this anyway?" he asked, looking at the sliced food sitting on a bed of rice.

"Winter Succotash with Pork and Tomato fondue. Lexi! Dinner!"

"Coming Mama!" Lexi called as she trotted out of her room, carrying an old pale-blonde teddy bear with a blue ribbon tied around its neck. "Mommy, since you have a guest eating with us, can Teddy watch us eat?"

"So long as he watches only," Rose said sternly as she went to the refrigerator again and grabbed a jug of orange juice and a carton of milk before setting them on the counter and sitting next to her brother. The three dug into their dinner for a moment before Laxus decided to talk again.

"So while I was gone, did you guys convert to Zentopia or something?" he asked.

"Nope," Rose said as she watched her daughter stab a piece of pork and start biting chunks off her fork. "Lexi, use your knife." Lexi pouted before placing her teddy on the counter and picking up her knife to cut her meat.

"Wanna see my loose teeth?" Lexi asked. Laxus turned and Lexi stuck her thumb in her mouth to wiggle the top two front teeth. Laxus chuckled.

"Think you're gonna lose them soon?" he asked.

"Yep!" she cheered. Laxus turned back to his sister.

"So why help at Kardia if you're not really a part of the church?"

"Because it's just a nice thing to do," Rose replied.

"In that case, what if Fairy Tail helped out this year?" Rose gave him a wide-eyed look.

"Are you serious?"

"Why not? It would help spread the message that some of our heavy hitters are back plus be a good way to usher in the holidays," Laxus said before taking another bite of pork.

"That would be awesome!" the scarlet-tipped blonde cheered.

"Is Uncle Laxus gonna help at Kardia?" Lexi asked.

"Yep. Fairy Tail too," Laxus replied before a shrill ringing split the air. The scarlet-tipped blonde got up and went over to a small communication lacrima on the counter. "Hello, Rose Dreyar." A woman appeared on the crystal looking at a notecard.

"Yes, Miss Dreyar. We're the Magnolia Police Department calling to inform you that someone hit a deer and we have it here if you want to pick it up." Rose looked over past Laxus at Rai who was still rubbing his face on the catnip bag.

"Can I send my brother to get it? He's the one who needs it."

"Absolutely ma'am. We can add him to our roadkill list if he would like that when he gets here." Rose nodded.

"Alright. He'll head over once he finishes his dinner." The woman nodded and the image faded.

"Roadkill?" Laxus asked. Rose shrugged.

"I do what I can. And they make sure the deer are fresh, whole and good for people before they call you. Plus, I'm practically the only one on the list. You need to be able to feed Rai and when opportunity knocks…" Lexi reached up and knocked on the counter three times as she took a bite.

"Alright, whatever," he said as he took another bite of his food. Rose came back and sat down next to him.

"Mommy makes delicious jerky when she gets a deer," Lexi spoke up. "And Miss Sonya made me a warm blankie from the fur."

"Miss Sonya's pretty talented huh? Just like your mom." Rose smirked as she took another bite.

"Yea she is! She's the bestest babysitter ever!" Lexi cheered as she shoveled some succotash into her mouth.

"Never in my life have I ever seen a child eat vegetables willingly," Laxus commented. "Or be so gung-ho about it." Rose shrugged.

"Well, none of them were my kid." Lexi beamed at him.

"Mommy doesn't take bullshit from no one!" Laxus' jaw partially dropped.

"I don't know if I should scold her about her language or be proud of her," he admitted.

"Second one is best. You know better than anyone that I cursed enough to make a sailor blush as a teen," Rose commented.

"That's quite true," Laxus chuckled.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cleanup Kardia Project is underway and Laxus and Lucy learn more about the Pack.

Laxus groaned as a rough tongue ran over his face, waking him up. He cracked open one eye to see Rai standing next to his bed and slowly got up.

"I should be the one having trouble waking you up. For crying out loud, do you ever sleep?" the blonde asked playfully as he slowly got up and out of his bed. Rai hurried out into the hall and down the stairs as Laxus got dressed. Once he had on a pair of black jeans and a red t-shirt, Laxus made his way downstairs. His lion was waiting by a massive metal bowl that Laxus had pulled out of his cupboards and deemed the feline's food bowl. The blonde reached into his refrigerator and grabbed a few venison steaks from what had been cut from the deer he'd gotten last night.

The buck had been an impressive 135 Kg, which should be enough to tide Rai over for a little. Laxus had made calls to a few zoos and gotten contact information for a couple services that supplied them with meat for their big cats and would be willing to deliver a consistent amount of meat for Rai whenever it was convenient for Laxus. One nearby zoo had even invited him to bring Rai by after New Years to get checked up by their vet. But they'd made it very clear on how to feed the malnourished lion and that if it seemed like he got worse to bring him in immediately. Since Rai was rather lively and active than most other lions, he'd been warned to keep an eye out for any lethargy as well as any biting or scratching at the wounds.

Laxus cooked up a couple steaks at a time until he had 2 Kg for Rai's breakfast and a steak for himself. As Rai chewed on his breakfast, Laxus cooked up the rest of the 4 Kg the zoo had suggested he start Rai on, stored the meat in a container with a cooler lacrima inside, and set it aside to grab on their way out the door.

Once breakfast was done and Laxus went through his morning routine to prepare for the day, the two headed off towards the church. It had snowed a little more overnight and the flakes were still falling as the two moved through the town.

 

Rose and Lexi were standing by the doors of Kardia Cathedral. Laxus raised a hand in greeting. Rose copied the gesture and Lexi hopped up and down in a circle around her mother, swinging her arms around and pulling her knees up to her chest as she tried copied the same landing spots over and over again. Rose held a folder and pen in one hand and over her shoulder was a brown messenger bag.

"Morning Laxus," Rose said as he came up to his sister.

"Morning Rose. Hey Lexi." Lexi smiled, revealing her two front teeth that had been loose the night before were now missing. "Whoa! What have we here?" Laxus asked as he bent down to Lexi's level.

"I was in a fight," the redheaded child said with a broad grin.

"Oh really? And you lost your teeth in it?" the hulking blonde prodded, fully aware his niece hadn't been in any fights.

"You should see the other guy," she giggled. Rose chuckled.

"She's been dying to tell you that since they popped out this morning." Laxus nodded as he picked up his niece and stood up. "Ready to go in and see what'll be on our agenda?"

"Sure." Rose led the way to the church's doors and pulled one open. The first thing Laxus noticed was the heat coming from the inside of the building. The second thing he noticed was the short old man with a long white beard dressed in the robes of a parish priest standing next to the doors instead of Father Febritzio who he'd remembered as the parish priest of Kardia. But then again, it was likely the old priest had died or been promoted. The third thing he noticed was that the church had a long black stripe leading fright from the doors all the way back to the steps leading up to the organ. The pews were half burnt at the very least. A couple still had a flame or two dancing on them.

"What happened Father Rueben?!" Rose cried.

"We had a request answered by a young pink-haired man and his cat. They completed the job but they left this mess in their wake," the Father explained. Rose sighed and Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose with a groan.

"Natsu," he growled.

"My apologies my dear." Rose shook her head.

"No Father, we volunteered to clean and this is part of the mess. We might need to start early though." Father Rueben nodded.

"In that case, shall I leave you to it?" Rose nodded.

"Just leave it to us Father," Laxus said, stepping forward. "I'll go collect my Guild and we'll get started on cleaning this up. Consider it a gift from Fairy Tail as well as an apology for the damages Natsu Dragneel caused." The Father nodded.

"Thank you young man. I'll go get some things from the storeroom that one of our attendees donated to us and then I'll keep out of your way." With that, Father Rueben walked away. Rose looked back at the damages.

"So…looks like we'll need to add making new pews to our usual list," Rose sighed. Lexi whimpered.

"Can you two stay here and get a list written up detailing what we need to do? I can teleport to the Guild and tell everyone to come here. Then when more people show up, we'll start giving out jobs." Rose nodded.

"I can call on some of my Spirits to remove the old pews. If you can get that Laki girl to come with you, that would be awesome. I know Sonya would greatly appreciate the lack of cutting down trees. Tell everyone to wear jeans and thick, close-toed shoes. This is gonna be dirty work and there's a chance for clothes to get ruined so nothing that they adore and will be upset if they have to throw it out."

"Be back soon," Laxus said as he turned to lightning and teleported to the Guild Hall. He could hear the rowdy crowd already inside and he grit his teeth when he heard Natsu call for challengers. It was the flame-brain's fault that Rose's job had been made infinitely more complicated than before. The blonde opened the doors and stormed into the building, glaring at the Fire Dragon Slayer as he provoked Gray into another fight that had at least half the Guild involved in under ten seconds.

"Hi there Laxus," Sonya called from her place at the bar with Baby Erika.

"Good morning Laxus, I trust you slept well?" Freed asked.

"Where's Rai?" Bickslow asked.

"It's certainly surprising that he's not here considering how he followed Laxus like a lost puppy yesterday," Evergreen commented. The Lightning Wizard held up a hand to his team, signaling he'd answer them later.

"ENOUGH!" Laxus roared at the top of his lungs. The brawl came to a halt save for Natsu and Gray. Laxus stomped towards the two, most of the other brawlers leaping out of the livid man's way. The massive blonde grabbed the two by the scruffs of their necks, lifted them off the ground and turned them so they didn't face each other. "I said that's enough!" Natsu started flailing to get free.

"I knew you wanted to fight me Laxus!" he cheered.

"Hardly. But I'm pissed enough to consider knocking you out after what you left at Kardia!" the larger male roared, setting Gray down.

"Huh?" Natsu asked, his flailing slowing.

"What happened?" Sonya asked.

"Apparently, Flame-brain took a job at Kardia and left with most of the pews on fire! My sister and her kid are at Kardia right now cleaning up! Which leads me to why I'm here right now. I volunteered Fairy Tail to take part in the Kardia Cleanup Project. And thanks to this punk, we're starting today. Those of you who don't have anything to do, go back home and get changed. Rose said jeans and thick, close-toed shoes. Whatever you wear, don't let it be something where if it gets dirty or ruined, you'll be upset." Sonya nodded and looked at Kinana.

"You go help out, I'll keep Erika and bring lunch by for you all," the purple-haired woman said with a smile as she reached across the bar and took the infant into her own arms. Sonya nodded and hopped off her stool.

"I'm ready to go help out right now," she offered.

"As are we," Freed said for the Thunder Legion. Laxus nodded.

"In that case, let's get going." The blonde set Natsu down and the group headed for the exit.

"Hold it!" Natsu challenged as he raced around to stand between the group and the exit.

"Not now Natsu," Laxus growled.

"Yes now! You're gonna give Lucy back to my team! I'm the one who brought her to Fairy Tail and I've been her best friend from the start!"

"I have no control over her and her choices. If Lucy is tired of your team's destruction, then maybe it's you guys who need to change something. Now get out of my way." Natsu snarled at Laxus, his fangs baring. Laxus bared his own fangs in warning. Sonya stepped between the two.

"Move Natsu. Now," she hissed. "Or I'll move you."

"I'd like to see you try!" Natsu said, lifting a fist to Sonya's face in challenge. The caramel-haired Wizard grabbed the male's wrist and in a few quick movements, had him pinned to a table with his arm twisted behind his back.

"Let's go," she said as she grabbed his shoulder with her free hand and used it to pull him to stand and then lead him out the door with Laxus and his team following after them. "Laxus, think you can use your Lightning Teleport to bring Natsu and I to the Cathedral?"

"I can. But since is the first time you two are going through it, it'll likely make you a little sick." Sonya nodded.

"Let's do it then and get it over with." Laxus nodded and turned to his team.

"You guys good flying on your own?"

"Of course Laxus," Freed said as he pulled out his rapier to write the runes for his wings. Evergreen took off and Bickslow did a backflip to land on the tops of his babies. Laxus placed a hand on Sonya's shoulder and let his magic flow into her and Natsu before he teleported them to Kardia. True enough, upon returning to normal, Sonya released Natsu, who immediately threw up on the ground while Sonya took a few unsteady steps before she shook her head to clear the dizziness.

"Are you alright?" the blonde asked the caramel-haired Wizard. She nodded.

"Yea. I feel fine. Now let's go see what we can do to help Rose." The two headed inside the Cathedral. Inside, Lexi was resting her head on her mother's shoulder while Rose watched two massive human-like creatures collect the burnt pews. Aside from the fact that they were just as tall as the Cathedral doors and had only one eye in the middle of their foreheads, they looked like perfectly normal humans.

"I see you've added some Cyclopes to your Spirit arsenal," Laxus commented as he came up next to his sister. Rose chuckled.

"Yea. And a Gashadokuro and a few others. Hey guys!" The Cyclopes paused and turned to look at Rose. "When your arms are full, take the pews outside and make a pile with them, okay?"

"Yes Lady Rose," they said in unison before returning to work. Laxus was impressed to see it only took the massive Cyclopes two or three trips each to clear out the burnt remains. Once they were done, Rose thanked them and they vanished into the ground.

"So, how is our list coming?" Sonya asked as she came up. Rose held up a piece of paper covered in jobs and details. Sonya took it and looked it over. "Painting?"

"Yea. They're in the supplies that Father Rueben got out of the storage closet, as well as brushes, paint trays, wood finish and stain, drop cloths and tape to protect the windows and floor." Sonya nodded.

"Alright. So then…When they arrive, let's have Freed, Levy, Lucy, Bisca, Azuka, Rose and Lexi work in the library. Laki will make the new pews. Bickslow, Evergreen and anyone else who can fly will be in charge of dusting and preparing for painting. Then everyone else will be scrubbing out the char mark. Once we finish that, Laki should be done with the pews and then we'll all meet up to eat. After that, half of us can paint inside and half of us can stain and finish the pews. Sound good to you guys?" Rose nodded.

"Sounds like a plan to me. We'll need someone to supervise Natsu though," Laxus said.

"Anyone in mind?" Rose asked.

"Maybe Bickslow if they work in the same place. Since Bickslow isn't the leader of the Thunder Legion and isn't a Dragon Slayer, Natsu shouldn't want to fight him too much. But if he does, I know Bickslow can handle him." The girls nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. How about you help with getting the high-up books for the organizers and Freed do the dusting in the library?" Sonya suggested. Laxus nodded. "Quick thing, I've had a bad feeling since I woke up this morning, so keep an eye on Lucy. If I need her for something, I'll come get her myself. I give you my word as a Celestial Wizard of that."

"I'll go get started then," Rose said as she took Lexi and headed towards the back of the Cathedral which lead to the library the church kept. Laxus followed his sister with Rai close behind.

"The Thunder Legion should be here soon. Just tell them their jobs once they get here. If you guys need help come get me," he said over his shoulder.

"I hear ya!" Sonya called.

 

The library wasn't the biggest Laxus had ever seen but it also wasn't the smallest. Three walls roughly 3 m tall and 15 m long filled to the top with bookshelves covered in texts. One wall was tinted glass, allowing for a view of the street leading to Fairy Tail. There were a few tables on the floor as well as a couple comfy-looking chairs next to the window. Laxus draped his coat over one as Rose set her own coat and Lexi's on the one next to it.

"Alright, let's get started," Rose said as she began pulling books off the shelves. "It'll probably go faster if we all get the books off the shelves, then someone dusts while the others organize, and then we all put them back. The organizers will need to check for damages in the book, remove the old stickers and replace them."

"Replace them with what?"

"There's a sticker printer in the office next to us, as well as a few pairs of Gale-force reader glasses designed to look for damages. I'll handle printing the stickers so don't worry about it," Rose said. Laxus nodded and started grabbing books off the shelves and placing them on the table. Lexi was grabbing books off the children's shelf. Every now and again, she'd get interested in one and start reading.

It only took a few minutes of work before Freed arrived and began helping as well. Levy and Lucy arrived a little later, Levy in her usual orange dress with a red shawl draped over her shoulders. Lucy had on a black shirt with a matching skirt held up by a silver belt, a pair of black tights and knee-high brown boots. Over her shirt, she wore a light blue jacket with a gold zipper and her blonde hair was up in twin pigtails.

"Morning," Lucy greeted cheerfully.

"Morning Lucy," Rose greeted.

"Good Morning Miss Lucy! Hi Miss Levy!" Lexi greeted cheerfully, her button nose buried in another one of the children's books. Lucy smiled and went over to help the child.

"What book is that?" she asked.

"Key of the Starry Heavens. Mommy reads it to me around Halloween." Lucy chuckled.

"I used to read that book all the time when I was your age," Lucy said as she began stacking books in her arm to take to the tables. Upon seeing Lucy work, Lexi shut the book and began collecting her own stack. Laxus couldn't help a little smile.

A sharp snapping of fingers near his ear made him turn around and face his sister.

"You're gonna want to stop staring," she whispered before taking a stack of books to the tables. Laxus nodded and quickly went back to work, although he did glance back at Lucy and Lexi from the corner of his eye every now and again.

Once the books were cleared off, Freed got to dusting as Lucy, Laxus and Levy took the old stickers off the books and looked through for damages using the wind-reader glasses from the office, allowing Lexi to read whatever ones suited her fancy as Rose went into the office to print off the organizational stickers. A few times, Lucy or Levy would find a book they liked and would gush about it for a couple minutes, distracting Laxus from his own organizing.

He could hardly be blamed. The way Lucy's eyes would light up when a book she particularly enjoyed was involved would be enough to catch anyone's attention. Her smile and excited gasps for air between rushed sentences was enough to keep attention on her during those moments. Her laugh to signal the ending of the moment was just as hard to look away from.

Each time Laxus returned to his work, he'd bite the inside of his cheek. He wasn't trying to creep Lucy out and yesterday had been startling for the both of them, not to mention Sonya. While the caramel-haired Wizard had been more familiar with the idea, it was more or less foreign to himself and Lucy. He was aware he'd made it clear he had attraction to Lucy, he didn't want to rush her into anything at all. She needed time to heal from losing her father. Had Perseus kept his mouth shut about Lucy and Sonya being in a Pack, Laxus was fairly certain it would've taken months, if not years, for the three of them to realize it themselves. But while the Iron Hero had sped up the process, it didn't excuse staring like a creep.

Right around the time Laxus, Lucy and Levy were about halfway through the books, Rose came back into the room with the sticker sheets and a spreadsheet of what sticker went to what book by title and author name and Freed finished dusting the shelves. The two started replacing the organizational stickers and Bisca and Azuka came into the room around that time. Bisca quickly joined Freed and Rose as Azuka and Lexi squealed, hugged, jumped around and started playing tag in the room. Lexi stood an easy head taller than Azuka so she was "it" for less time than Azuka tended to be.

By the time the books were organized and stickers replaced, it was about an hour until lunch.

"Alright. All that's left is to get them put away," Rose said. Laxus rubbed his eyes for a second to relieve them of the strain the long exposure to the wind-reader glasses had caused.

"Levy and I can take care of the children's books," Lucy volunteered.

"Alright then. Remember. It's in order by number, then the author's name, followed by title of the book," Rose reminded.

"Yep," Levy said as she and Lucy collected as many books as they could possibly carry and took them over to the shelf. Laxus looked around the room and couldn't help the small smile that came to his face when he saw Azuka curled up on one of the comfy chairs with her mother's poncho acting as a blanket for her nap and Lexi dozed on, curled up in his coat with a book open on her lap.

The blonde male began organizing a stack of his own to start putting away when Erza stepped into the room.

"Is Lucy here?" she asked.

"Right here Erza," Lucy said as she stood up. "What's up?"

"Laki finished making the pews. Sonya read the cans for the wood stain and finish and apparently they'll take longer than she thought to be finished. She wants you and I to go outside and set up a tent and lay down cloths so that the fumes don't get inside." Lucy nodded and Laxus stepped in between her and Erza, earning him a dark glare from the redhead.

"Why wouldn't Sonya come tell us this herself?" he asked.

"She's busy," Erza said quickly. Rose placed a book on the shelf and then turned to glare at the redhead.

"Doing what?"

"Putting up tape on the windows for when we paint later." Was Erza's quick response as she crossed her arms over her chest. "You know, this is starting to feel more like an interrogation." Laxus' eyes narrowed.

"Sonya gave me her word as a Celestial Wizard that if she needed Lucy, she'd come get her herself. Now please, go back to whatever you're supposed to be doing, and leave us to do our own work," Laxus said flatly, leaving little room for argument. Lucy bit her lip as Erza's glaring darkened further. Magic power could be felt filling the air. The harsh, ungiving nature of Erza's steel-like Requip Magic and the cackling electric vibe radiating off of Laxus were so thick they could practically be tasted.

"I can come in a little bit. We're almost done I here," Lucy offered with a smile, trying to diffuse the tense atmosphere that was starting to fill the room.

"We need to go do this now," Erza said sternly.

"Get back to work Lucy," Laxus said as he walked up to Erza. Lucy looked from the blonde to the redhead a few times before she slowly sat back down on her small stool and began putting books away again. "Listen Erza. I don't care what it is you're trying to pull. Lucy is not yours to boss around. If this really is something Sonya needs done right now, she'd be here. I suggest you go back to whatever it is that she told you to do before you decided to try this, before I decide to get mad." With that, the male shut the door and quickly wrote some runes to keep Erza from breaking the door down as well as muffle outside noises. His enhanced hearing could pick up Erza's yelling and banging on the door as he went back to work with a satisfied smirk on his face. Lucy gave him an uncertain glance but quickly looked back to her work.

 

Kinana arrived around noon with Mira and Lisanna and Baby Erika in a baby carrier in the purple-haired woman's hand and a massive spread of food. Each of the Wizards grabbed a plate, some food, a drink and then found a place among the many wooden benches that would soon be pews to eat.

Laki had done an amazing job with the pews. Laxus had been half afraid that she'd include some weird images on the sides or even in the seats themselves but no such things existed. The sides of the pews were decorated with the Zentopia symbol and that was all.

Laxus and Sonya kept Lucy between the two of them as they got lunch and took a seat. Before long, the Thunder Legion, Rose, Lexi, Kinana and Baby Erika joined them. Bickslow had his helmet resting next to him on the bench.

Lucy watched the group interact in appropriate-volume voices about everyday small talk chats that led to discussions about various points of interest. No half-chewed globs of food were flying out of anyone's mouth, no one was shoving food into their mouths at a rate that made her stomach hurt, no one was fighting or about to pick a fight with each other, no one was stripping to their underpants and beyond, and no one was calling her weird. Even Rai was perfectly well behaved as he laid at Laxus' feet eating his own lunch. The blonde female let out a relieved sigh as she sat back on the bench.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Team Natsu eating. Well, more like Erza and Gray were eating. Natsu was shoveling food into his mouth and then sending half of it flying. The sight made the blonde gag.

"You okay Lucy?" Sonya asked as she held a fussy Erika.

"Yea. Just enjoying the peace," she sighed. Laxus' jaw clenched at the thought that Lucy couldn't even enjoy a meal without her teammates causing a ruckus.

"So Lucy, how did you sleep last night?" Sonya asked, trying to change the subject when she saw the subtle change in Laxus' jaw.

"Okay. That is until Natsu snuck into my bed again," the blonde groaned. Laxus almost smacked his forehead for forgetting to ask Freed about putting up a barrier around Lucy's home. Since Rose lived there as well, maybe it would just be best to make a barrier around the entire building, now that he thought on it.

"Does Natsu often do that?" Freed asked. Lucy nodded.

"It drives me crazy," she sighed. Bickslow gave her a sad glance before returning to his own food.

"So Sonya," Evergreen started. "I know you said that you, Lucy and Laxus are a Pack and that Laxus is the Alpha. What about the other ones you mentioned? The Beta, Gamma and Omega? And are there any other details we should know about? Like side effects or anything like that?"

"Well, since Lucy is the only one of us who isn't a Dragon Slayer, she might start showing some Dragon traits, like claws, fangs, even scales and slitted pupils. Oh. There's also the balancing magic. Again, that's a bit of a hurdle and we can share energy with each other if needed, but due to that, if we continue working on our bond as Pack Mates, there's a chance for huge advantages. Such as telepathic links and enhanced healing abilities."

"How does that work?" Laxus asked.

"I think I can answer that one," Bickslow said. "If I'm understanding you right, Sonya, basically the Pack acts like a single entity, and its members are parts of that. Kinda like how a vase in pieces is still a vase but it's separated." Sonya nodded.

"That's the gist of it. Basically we become more connected and our bodies respond to each other due to the mental connection. First signs of a really good-related and well-structured Pack is a telepathic link. It starts out as being able to sense incredibly strong emotions of each other within short-ranges, then slowly starts growing until we're aware of the emotions and thoughts of our Pack Mates almost constantly. Healing comes from a similar mental link. Like let's say that I get hurt and Lucy and Laxus see it. Their instincts will likely kick in, telling their brains that the injury is their own. But while their brains are aware of the fact that they're not actually hurt, the stimulation of that part of the brain in their heads, increases the stimulation of it in mine and causes faster rates of healing," she explained.

"So the link grows as you three spend more time together and are more aware of the link itself," Rose added. "Think of it as a string that connects the backs of your skulls to each other. As it gets stronger and more powerful, the string turns into a cable."

"You seem to know quite a bit about this," Lucy commented. Rose shrugged.

"I'm raising a seven-year-old. I learned quickly how to explain things simply."

"Wasn't there another question Evergreen asked?" Sonya asked.

"She asked about the ranking system and how that works," Lucy reminded. The caramel-haired girl smacked her forehead.

"Oh yea! The ranking system! Well…Papa explained to me that I'm a Beta-Gamma. The Alpha is the leader of the Pack. The Beta is the second in command. The Gamma acts kinda like the peacekeeper or the warrior on behalf of the Alpha and Beta. The Omega is the one who is more likely to stay behind with the young while the others go hunting."

"And so…Lucy's the Omega?" Evergreen asked. Sonya hummed in thought.

"I don't think so. I think she's the same rank as me. Some Packs have Beta-Gammas or Gamma-Omegas but that doesn't mean that they take over the two roles in the Pack in entirety. Some of the Packs with Beta-Gammas or Gamma-Omegas had two members of similar rank. One thing you guys should probably understand about Dragons is that they believed in four genders as opposed to two like humans do. There's the Masculine Male, Feminine Male, Masculine Female and Feminine Female. Male and Female refers to the genitalia you have while Masculine and Feminine are personality. Papa said that in most cases, the Alpha and Gamma positions of a Pack are Masculines and the Beta and Omega are usually Feminines. It was different from Pack to Pack but that was the norm among Dragons and their Slayers from what he told me. Some Packs were all Male, or all Female, some had a mix of Male and Female."

"How did one discover if they were Masculine or Feminine then?" Freed asked.

"It happened as you grew up. Typically, the Feminines show more traits associated with being gentle while Masculines show more traits associated with being aggressive. It doesn't mean Feminines can't be aggressive or Masculines can't be gentle, it just means that they show more characteristics associated with Masculine or Feminine. Does that make sense?"

"I believe so," Freed said with a nod as he finished his food. "So how did that make you a Beta-Gamma?"

"Just my personality. I want to protect people and I can handle myself in a fight, but I know I'm not a leader. If I work with others, I tend to look to them for guidance more often than not."

"So does that mean that there's one more spot to be filled in this Pack?" Evergreen asked.

"Perhaps. Like I said, there were some Packs with only three members."

"Can't you summon the Iron Heroes and ask them to tell you if there is another or not and who they are?" Evergreen asked.

"We could, but we really shouldn't," Sonya said. "What Perseus said wasn't supposed to be said. We're supposed to come together as a Pack on our own. I asked about our Alpha because the Alpha is the leader. I'm a Beta-Gamma so another one wouldn't be able to come to a conclusive decision on what we should do as a Pack, and an Omega would basically do everything I say and not fight back if they disagreed. But what Perseus did is equivalent to… to…"

"To the Graeae Sisters appearing and telling you when you'll die?" Rose offered. Bickslow nodded.

"Or me telling someone every tiny thing about their soul," he added.

"Exactly," Sonya said pointedly.

"If it was against the rules that means it doesn't count!" Natsu yelled as he ran towards the group. "So give Lucy back!" Rose glared and set her plate down before popping the knuckles on both hands and popping her neck and vaulting over the back of the bench. Lexi watched with wide eyes and a bright smile on her face.

"Mommy's fingers and neck went 'pop, pop, pop!' That means he's gonna go fly!" the child cheered, all but bouncing in her seat. Laxus didn't know if he should be scared or happy at his niece's elation at the prospect of her mother fighting.

Natsu neared the group and Rose took a deep breath before a wave of magic pressure released from her, moving forwards towards Natsu. It hit the male in the chest and sent him flying back to where he'd been sitting before. Lucy watched with wide, surprised eyes.

"What was that?" she asked as Rose took her seat again.

"Part of my Magic. I can control my Magic Pressure and its direction."

"What else can you do?" Lucy asked.

"Well. Laxus and I both got Thought Projection from our father, then I can also use a kind of Summoner Magic. You know the Ancient myths and the animals from them like the Minotaur, Hippogriff, and werewolves? I can summon them. But I have to fight and beat them first. I'm actually really proud of my most recent addition: A 50 m Gashadokuro named Shiro."

"Gashadokuro?" Evergreen asked.

"It's a creature from the Orient," Freed explained. "If I recall correctly, it's a collection of souls who've died from starvation, correct?" Rose nodded.

"I also have a Fenrir, a few Cylcopes, Cerberus, Orthrus, a Nekomata, a Hippogriff and a Kitsune. Actually, that's the first one Laxus met," Rose chuckled the last part as her brother winced.

"That fox packs a punch," he commented as he finished his meal. "You done Lucy?"

"Yea." Laxus took her paper plate and stacked it on his own before heading over to a trash bag Kinana had hung from a tree nearby. "So what's next on our To Do list?" Lucy asked.

"Well next is painting the inside of the Cathedral and doing the stain and finish on the pews. Tomorrow we can do some stuff like make sure the organ is working and sweeping as well as cleaning the statues and doing the basic cleanup. Then on Christmas Eve, we'll do mopping, putting the pews away, and setting up and decorating the tree," Rose said. "Can anyone think of anything else?"

"I have an idea," Sonya said. "What if we cleaned the bell? We've never had the chance to do that before." Rose nodded.

"Quite right. I'm up for doing that. Any objections?" No one raised one. "Okay then. Maybe we can have Natsu up there with a supervisor so that we know nothing will get destroyed and we won't have to worry about him."

"Sounds good to me," Laxus said. "Which reminds me Bicks, how was Natsu while you watched him?"

"Annoying," the Seith Wizard groaned. Rose cooed in sympathy and placed a hand on his knee.

"How about you guys? Anything happen in the library?" Sonya asked.

"Lexi and Azuka played tag and took a nap. It was so cute when Lexi used Laxus' blanket as a coat!" Lucy cooed. Sonya "Aw"ed at the mental image.

"And Erza came by saying she was asked by you to collect Lucy so that they could set up a tent for the pews while we do the stain and finish," Laxus reported. Sonya shook her head.

"Unbelievable."

"My thoughts exactly," the blonde male said. "Freed. I was wondering if you might be able to set up runes around Lucy and Rose's building to prevent Team Natsu from breaking in?" Freed nodded.

"I'll see to it once we're finished here."

"Thank you Freed," Lucy said, relieved. "How much are you normally paid for barriers like that?"

"It's my pleasure Miss Lucy. Don't worry about it. You're a fellow Guild mate asking for help. I'm happy to give my services without charge."

"But I feel like I should. You're taking time out of your day to do this for me. Plus, I have some money now that I could pay you with."

"Lucy," Rose said. "Just let him do this. He doesn't want to get paid for it. So please don't cause a problem where none exist. If it'll help you sleep at night, consider it a favor. Like you owe him one. And let that be the end of it." Lucy sighed.

"Alright. If you're sure," she said.

"Quite sure Miss Lucy," Freed replied.

"So guys, how would you feel about coming to my apartment for dinner tonight?" Rose asked. Lexi gasped excitedly and sat up straight at the thought, bouncing minutely on the edge of her seat.

"Will you please?!" she cried.

"Of course," Evergreen said.

"We'd be happy to Lexi," Bickslow added.

"What time should we come over?" Freed asked.

"How about an hour after we wrap up here? It'll give us time to get home, get dressed and get to my apartment. I can give you guys my address. And then Freed can do the barrier after dinner or before, whichever works for him."

"That works," Laxus said.

 

Lexi giggled as she chased Rai's tail around the living room. Her mother and uncle were setting up a temporary table and chairs next to the counter for their guests. Rai would let out a noise when Lexi would manage to catch his tail but neither Laxus nor Rose were ever worried that the lion would harm the child.

In the thirty to forty minutes it took for Laxus to get home, take a shower, get dressed, make Rai's dinner and teleport back to his sister's apartment, his sister had run to the store to get what she'd need to prepare dinner, bathed her child and herself, dried off, got changed and started making dinner.

Rose had decided on a variety of shrimp for dinner. The counter held the finished dishes of Pesto Shrimp and Gnocchi, Shrimp Scampi and Fresh Linguini, and Lemon Butter Shrimp with sides of roasted broccoli, a broccoli, cucumber and iceburg lettuce salad, tomato rice and an arugula-orange salad. The final dish she was preparing was Shrimp Spaghettini with chilis, mint and lemon.

Laxus figured either his sister knew exactly how much Dragon Slayers tended to eat, was planning on having leftovers to send home with everyone, or his tiny little niece could pack away more food than he thought. Lexi had been practically ecstatic when he'd shown up and she could tell him they were having shrimp for dinner.

The blonde male could hear Lucy padding around upstairs, sometimes flipping through what sounded like a magazine, or shuffling through her wardrobe. He was honestly resisting the urge to yell for her to just wear something casual. There was only Rose's ceiling and Lucy's floor between them at that point and he was fairly certain she'd hear him.

Three sharp taps on the door alerted the Dreyars to the first of their guests arriving. Sonya cracked open the door. Laxus looked up and did a double-take. Sonya had on her bearskin coat, a buckskin dress decorated in blue beads that matched the glass ones in her hair, and a darker-colored belt around her waist and moccasins on her feet. In her hand was Erika's carrier and the diaper bag was slung over her shoulder.

"Hello?" she called. Lexi leapt to her feet and ran to the woman, a bright smile on her face as Sonya quickly hung up her coat and the diaper bag, set Erika down and slipped out of her shoes.

"Miss Sonya!" she cheered. Sonya reached down and swung the child up into the air.

"Hey Lexi. What we having tonight?"

"Shrimp!"

"Ohh, yum!" the caramel-haired Wizard cheered as she spun the child around. "Your mommy spoils us, you know that?"

"Yep!" Laxus cast a glance at his sister who smirked and shrugged.

"I just know what you like Sonya. Is it so bad that I want to spoil my brother's fiancées? Not to mention my best friend and favorite babysitter?" she said, maintaining eye contact with her sibling. Laxus almost sighed. The message was perfectly clear; Sonya can take care of herself, but hurt her and his own sister would ensure he was a dead man.

A part of him felt that Sonya being able to care for herself was fairly obvious. If her fight yesterday with Natsu said anything, she was pretty powerful on her own. Had he been asked at the time why he didn't step in, he hadn't felt the need to. Sonya had had no trouble while fighting Natsu. Maybe if it looked like she was having trouble or Natsu was overpowering her, he would've stepped in.

Sonya set Lexi down, picked up Erika out of the carrier and came over to the table. The infant was sleeping and dressed in a little red dress with a white onesie underneath and a white band with a red flower perched on her head.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Think you could go upstairs and check on Lucy? I think she's nervous," Laxus asked as he set the plates around the table. Sonya nodded and slipped out of the apartment. After a couple minutes of more padding around, Lucy and Sonya appeared in the apartment. Lucy was dressed in a pretty pink cable-knit sweater and a khaki skirt with her hair let down.

The two helped Lexi hold Erika on the couch safely. The tiny redheaded child even sang a little lullaby to the baby, which had everyone smiling at the scene. It wasn't too long after that Bickslow, Evergreen and Freed came into the apartment as well. The table was set, Rai was fed and dinner was served.

 

Once the last of the dishes had been cleaned and put away and the temporary table and chairs folded up and set off to the side, everyone sat around in the living room. Erika was sleeping in her carrier again, Sonya and Lucy sat on either side of Lexi as she read a children's book to them, Bickslow and Rose were talking about their magics while he, Evergreen and Freed were simply sitting back and enjoying the company for the night, and Rai lay at Laxus' feet, perfectly content as the blonde ran a hand through the finally matt-free mane and snow fell outside.

Laxus couldn't help a small half-smile that spread over his face. He had felt something close to this in Shiratsume when he'd spent a month helping and getting to know his sister and her baby. But now, with his team, his sister, his niece, Baby Erika and his fellow Pack members. This felt like home.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chaos ensues on Christmas Eve for the Pack.

Laxus awoke early on Christmas Eve morning and not to something he'd want to wake up to. His shoulder was bothering him. He couldn't even turn his head to the side and even sitting up in his bed had hurt some. He could barely get even a half range of motion out of his right arm without feeling pain, either lacing through his chest or shooting through his neck. His right hand was his dominant hand and his best writing hand. He could still write using his left hand if he went extremely slowly. Everything just felt awkward when he had to use his left hand for most of his daily activities.  
"Of all the days for this to happen," he groaned. This was the last day of work on the Cleanup Kardia Project. And after they'd finished today, Laxus had planned to make a quick call to the Counsel in regards to the mayor of the town where Erika had been born and then head home for a little bit before going back to Rose's for a Christmas Eve party. Lexi had been particularly excited about having her uncle join the festivities.  
The blonde let out another sigh as he went through his morning routine, slower than usual. He'd probably be the one babysitting Natsu today so he could give his shoulder a rest. Then again, maybe it was all the looking down he'd been doing lately that he wasn't used to doing. Between job reports, filling out paperwork for Fairy Tail's involvement in the Cleanup Kardia Project, and picking up a seven-year-old, he'd definitely put some form of strain on his neck and spine that he hadn't been used to before.  
Maybe he could ask Wendy to help him a little bit at the Cathedral. The thought made him pause in the middle of pulling a shirt over his practically immobile arm. Sonya hadn't mentioned talking to the Sky Dragon Slayer about the continuation of her education since the idea had been pitched to his team. Maybe it was something he'd have to bring up to Sonya or bring up with Wendy herself.  
Thinking that thought over for a moment as he descended the stairs to take some pain meds and start making breakfast, it was quickly dismissed. Laxus had only had a few brief encounters with Wendy and each time she'd looked terrified of him. Or at least nervous. He'd probably freak her out in a minute. Aside from that, he wasn't the best at talking. This was definitely something he should just leave to Sonya and be done with it.  
He pulled on his coat and winced as his shoulder flared up again. Rai let out a noise of concern, causing Laxus to pet his hand with his good hand. The two left the house in silence. Laxus figured he'd stop by the Guild Hall and make his call to the Magic Counsel first. It would give the pain meds he'd taken time to kick in properly and would get the more unpleasant part of the day out of the way.  
________________________________________  
The Hall was practically empty save for Kinana, Lisanna and Mira, who were working in the kitchen,  
"Good morning Laxus," Kinana said. "Aren't you supposed to be at the church?"  
"I have a call to make to the Counsel regarding that job Sonya, Lucy and I took. I'll be headed over once I finish here." The purple-haired barmaid nodded.  
"I'll give Rose a call on the communication lacrima down here. Oh, and last night, we got a delivery from the Counsel. It felt heavy but it strictly said it was only to be opened by the fourth Master." Laxus nodded his appreciation before noting the look Mira was giving him.  
"Problem Demon?" he asked.  
"Nope," she said quickly, returning to her cooking. Laxus rolled his eyes and headed up to the office. Sitting on the desk was the thick package Kinana had mentioned. The blonde sighed as he looked over the shelves of paperwork before he took a seat in the chair behind the desk, being careful of his painful shoulder.  
He pulled the communication lacrima out of the drawer and quickly called the Magic Counsel. The frog that answered croaked loudly.  
"What in the world?! You're supposed to be dead!" she cried. Laxus rolled his eyes.  
"Well apparently I'm not. I'm calling to file a report on a job I took recently. The paperwork is on its way there but there is a matter that can't wait." The frog-woman nodded and summoned a quill and pen.  
"We're ready for your report Mr. Dreyar," she croaked, bored. Laxus gave the information from the job from start to finish, and the behavior of the mayor. The frog-woman's pen practically flew across the pad of paper as he spoke. Upon hearing that the man had pulled a gun indoors, the frog-woman sat at attention.  
"He pulled a gun indoors?!" she croaked. Laxus nodded.  
"I snapped his wrist to keep him from shooting." The woman nodded and looked over the pad of paper.  
"You said the mad man was not identified in the flier?"  
"Correct."  
"But you could identify him as Jose Porla, former Wizard Saint and Master of Phantom Lord?"  
"Again, correct. You gonna ask me to repeat all the details I just finished telling you?" the blonde male snapped.  
"What Keys were included in the reward?" the frog-woman croaked. Laxus glared at the lacrima.  
"Why should that be important?"  
"Just please answer the question sir." The lightning Wizard's stormy eyes flashed dangerously.  
"Not until I get an answer for mine. Why the hell would it be relevant the Keys we got as the reward?"  
"These are details that the Magic Counsel find relevant. Very little is known about Celestial Magic and so it's possible that one of the Keys influenced his behavior. If that's the case, then that Key will need to be confiscated."  
Laxus shot to his feet, slamming his right hand down on the desk. A clap of thunder rang through the office as Laxus' teeth bared themselves in a snarl.  
"You'll do no freaking thing!" he roared. The frog-woman croaked. "The Keys have nothing to do with that mayor's behavior! We're done here. Now do your job!" The enraged Wizard hit the lacrima with the back of his hand, sending it rolling across the floor. He collapsed back into the chair and rubbed at his aching shoulder, snarling at himself. He hadn't been that angry since he'd found out Hades had attacked his grandfather.  
After a few minutes, Laxus heard the office door open and thick boots move across the floor. They stopped for a second and the lacrima he'd hit was picked up before the boots continued. They came to a stop in front of the desk. Laxus glanced upward to see Sonya place the communication lacrima back in its place.  
"You okay?" she asked.  
"Do I look it?" he grunted.  
"Your shoulder?" He nodded. "Can you lay down on the floor then? I know a trick that might help."  
"I'll try anything at this point," the blonde said as he moved to get up. His shoulder flared and he hissed at the pain racing up his neck. Sonya flinched and a hand came up to rub her own right shoulder. "You felt that?" he asked, meeting her eyes. She nodded.  
"Yea. I felt a phantom pain this morning too. I'm gonna guess if that's the case, Lucy's probably feeling phantoms too. So just lay down. Okay?" Laxus did as instructed as carefully as he could. Sonya maneuvered herself to place her hands on his back. She pressed most of her weight onto her hands and worked her way up his back. Once she'd finished, she stood back up and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hold on a second. I'm gonna go get you some ice. Take a seat in the chair and try not to move your shoulder."  
"Alright. I can do that," the male said as he stood up and sat back down in the chair. Sonya returned a few moments later with an ice pack wrapped in a towel and placed it on his shoulder.  
"Leave that there for a bit. Does it feel any better?" The blonde was able to manage a nod.  
"Honestly, much better," he said. "Question. I know Lucy said she thought of her Spirits as family and you do as well."  
"Yes? What of it?" Sonya asked as she sat on the desk edge.  
"When I called the Counsel, they mentioned the idea of a Key making the mayor go crazy on that last job we took and confiscating it." Sonya's eyes widened.  
"Then you got mad and caused that clap of thunder?" Laxus nodded again. "I see. So it looks like the link is already fairly strong. What you felt was what mine and Lucy's reactions would've been had we been in your place."  
"Pure, utter rage?" he asked. Sonya shrugged.  
"Maybe more Lucy. You know the five stages of grief right?"  
"Acceptance, bargaining, anger, depression, and denial, right?" Laxus asked, earning a nod from Sonya.  
"Lucy only recently lost her father so she could be going through some of these emotions. Considering the link is already growing fairly strong, we might also go through some stages of grief with her, or experience some for her. After all, we're the only ones in the world who can honestly say we feel and understand her pain." Laxus nodded again and sat back in the chair, further pressing the ice into his shoulder and neck.  
"So you think part of my reaction was the anger you two would've felt in that situation, and another part was me experiencing the anger stage of grief for Lucy?"  
"It's possible," the caramel-haired Wizard said. "But with that in mind, I think all three of us also need to have an extra stretch of patience with each other." Laxus nodded.  
"Anything else?" he asked.  
"Well, aside from how I encourage you to look for opportunities to spend time with Lucy and I, I don't believe so. Is your shoulder feeling better?" Laxus removed the ice pack and was able to turn his head to the side a little without pain as well as move his arm slightly.  
"A little better. Thanks," he said as Sonya took the ice pack back.  
"Alright then. I'd recommend taking it easy today. Just so you know, Lucy is mopping at Kardia. Your grandfather is drinking with Cana. When we get to Kardia, let's have Wendy look at your shoulder, okay?"  
"Sounds like a plan to me," Laxus said as he stood up and draped his coat over his shoulders. Sonya helped him with his bad shoulder. "Which reminds me. Are you gonna bring up that education idea of yours to Wendy?"  
"I want to. But I don't want that cat of hers influencing her so I kinda want to find a time when the cat isn't around to ask her," she explained as the two left the office. Rai, who'd been laying just outside in the hall, got up and followed them as they headed towards the church.  
________________________________________  
There was a crowd outside of Kardia Cathedral, watching as ornaments were added to the lights already decorating the tree when Laxus and Sonya and Rai approached the Cathedral. Some Wizards who could fly were cleaning the windows. Rose was on a ladder hanging ornaments with Bickslow flying around near her, occasionally hanging up an ornament or two from the box she had strapped over her shoulder.  
"Rose! I got him!" Sonya called as the trio entered the church.  
"Good to see ya bro! Come see me for your job once you're good to go!" the scarlet-tipped blonde greeted. Laxus nodded a response before following Sonya and Rai into the church. Lucy and Juvia were mopping side by side, with a handful of other people around the Cathedral. Erza was marching around dressed in red high heels, black stockings that left an inch or two between the top of them and the white, fuzzy edge of her red dress. The dress itself had no straps and could barely be called appropriate for outside wear, let alone wearing to work in a Cathedral. On top of her head was a Santa hat and red gloves covered her arms to her biceps.  
Makarov and Cana were yelling encouragements to the workers from the steps in front of the organ, bottles of alcohol spread out around them. Laxus wanted to groan. How Cana was still alive with the amount she drank, let alone his grandfather, he'd never know. Lexi and Azuka were running around in another game of tag, laughing their heads off as they hopped over mops and buckets and wet spots.  
"Go sit down on the steps. I'll get Wendy and she can look at your shoulder," Sonya said as she turned and slipped outside to find the little girl. Laxus did as told and sat on the steps, watching the volunteers. Lucy came over with a smile.  
"You felling okay?"  
"Yea. My shoulder's just stiff," Laxus said as Rai laid down next to him.  
"I see. Sorry for that."  
"Hey, hey! What do you think you're doing cleaning over there? This spot is still dirty!" Natsu's voice rang through the church. Laxus looked around as much as he could for the pink-haired Wizard.  
"What? You're supposed to be cleaning that part ash-brains!" Gray snapped back.  
"Would you two just shut up and clean?!" Gajeel barked.  
"Where are those coming from?" Laxus asked.  
"Don't ask me why, but Gajeel, Natsu, Gray and Pantherlily were put on bell-cleaning duty," Lucy reported, looking up at the area where the mentioned males could be heard from. Laxus groaned.  
"All three of them? I can tell right now this is going to be a disaster." Lucy sighed.  
"That's what I said," she agreed as Wendy and Sonya approached.  
"Hello Mr. Laxus. Sonya said you were having some pain in your shoulder?"  
"Yea. I can't really move my arm or my head without pain. Just getting up from bed was painful this morning." The blue-haired child nodded and moved to a step above Laxus so she could bend over his injury. He removed his coat and she gently pressed her hands to the limb, causing Laxus to grit his teeth, before closing her eyes and focusing her magic power. Her hands glowed a pale-green color as relief coursed through Laxus' body. After a few minutes, Wendy pulled her hands back and watched as Laxus tested his range of motion in his arm and neck.  
"Is that better?" she asked timidly.  
"That's incredible Wendy. Feels good as new. Thanks," the blonde said as he stood up. Wendy smiled and stood as well, dusting off her navy-colored skirt.  
"My pleasure sir. I'm gonna head back to work on the tree. For now, I'd recommend not doing too much lifting and the like for a couple of days. If your shoulder starts acting up again, come get me," she advised as she headed back outside.  
"Thanks again kid," Laxus said as he also stepped outside. Rose hopped off her ladder and set her empty box on the ground.  
"Feeling better bro?"  
"Much better thanks to Wendy. So where am I needed?"  
"On the tree." A coil of ribbon landed behind the siblings and they both turned to look as Erza started making her way down, using the ribbon like a rope. She stopped about halfway down.  
"Lily! Let them finish cleaning the bell! Help out on the windows please!" the redhead called.  
"Understood!" Laxus' eyes widened as he didn't see a small black cat fly down from the steeple but rather a cat roughly the same size as himself and just as muscularly built.  
"What the hell?" Laxus breathed. Rose chuckled.  
"Yea it surprised me too. Apparently, Pantherlily was once a member of Queen Shagote's private guard. He has the ability to turn into this from his smaller Exceed form. That ability made him an invaluable member of the guard," she explained.  
"Who's Queen Shagote?" Laxus asked as his sister grabbed a box of ornaments.  
"She's the Queen of the Exceeds. Basically cats like Happy, Carla and Pantherlily."  
"You've gotta be kidding me," the lightning Wizard groaned.  
"Nope. Not kidding."  
"COOL!" Laxus groaned again.  
"Good gosh please no," he muttered under his breath as he looked out of the corner of his eye to see a familiar blonde-haired reporter running through the crowd towards the church.  
"So cool! Fairy Tail really has come back, hasn't it?!" Jason cheered as he came to a stop in front of Laxus. "And you're the fourth Master, Laxus Dreyar! You don't look like you've aged a day! So cool!" Laxus sighed. "Do you have time for an interview?"  
"I suppose," the blonde said as he led the reporter away. "Let's keep out of everyone's way."  
________________________________________  
Lucy watched Laxus and Wendy leave the Cathedral and let out a little sigh. In truth, a part of her had been hoping she and Laxus could work together and maybe even talk some. If they were supposed to be a Pack, she'd like to know a little more about him, and even without that, he was a fellow Guild member.  
Lucy returned to her work until Erza's red heels came to a stop in front of her. The blonde looked up at the redhead.  
"Lucy, I need your help. Elfman is going to pick up the statues and you and I will clean under them," she said plainly.  
"Uh…Okay." Lucy followed the redhead to the first statue. Elfman lifted the massive thing and the two girls immediately set to clean the floor under it. The Take-Over Wizard slipped and began reeling back, trying to keep from dropping the statue. "Oh no, Elfman!" Lucy cried.  
"He's doing fine. We need to hurry, Lucy," Erza said as she continued to clean. Lucy quickly obeyed, watching as Elfman managed to barely hold onto the statue as he bent backwards over the railing. She could already imagine what would happen if the statue fell. The church would charge the Guild for a new one and both Masters would likely be infuriated. Lucy sighed in relief as Pantherlily came up and helped Elfman correct his grip on the massive marble piece.  
"That was close," she breathed as she and Erza finished mopping the spot and Elfman put it back. The blonde began making her way down the steps, being careful of the bottles from Makarov and Cana's drinking as the two argued some.  
"Aren't ya drunk yet, old man?" Cana slurred.  
"Wachya talkin' abou? I ain't drunk," Makarov slurred back as he took another swig.  
"Come on, Master, Cana. You guys could stand to ease up on the drinking," Lucy advised as she came to the bottom step.  
"Ah, come on Lucy. You always say such boring things," Cana giggled.  
"She's right. I won't permit it little lady. What the Master says goes!" the older male declared. Lucy sighed in defeat as she went back to work mopping the floors.  
"It is a good thing that one cannot contradict the Master," Erza said affirmatively, earning her a confused look from Lucy as another argument could be heard from the top of the steeple.  
"Sure…But…" Lucy looked over at the elderly Dreyar, now chugging away at a jug of alcohol. Someone needed to regulate his intake and he was making it clear it wasn't going to be him. As for the younger, while she could see he'd definitely changed, the one she knew before Tenrou was definitely not one she'd want to be forced to obey the orders of.  
"Oh! I can see my darling Gray's beautiful behind from here!" Juvia cheered rather loudly. Lucy and Erza came over and looked up as well. Sure enough, Gray had stripped down to his black boxers yet again.  
"You know, I've heard somewhere that a lack of clothing symbolizes a form of absolute peace within oneself and one's environment," Erza said as she walked past.  
"Well, in Gray's case, I'd say nope," Lucy commented as an argument of whether or not Natsu was complaining started up.  
________________________________________  
Rose sighed to herself slightly as she and Alzack picked up their daughters mid-run and began gently handing them ornaments. Mira, Lisanna, Erza, Levy and Wendy were handing out bags of cookies to local children. One boy commented on Erza's clothes being cool, which earned a tilted head from Lexi.  
"Mommy, why did he say those clothes are cool? They look yucky to me," the child asked. Rose had to bite her cheek to keep from chuckling at Erza's face upon hearing Lexi's words.  
"Because he's a boy sweetie," Rose said plainly.  
"But Uncle Laxus is a boy too. He doesn't say stuff like that, does he?"  
"He probably did once. But Uncle Laxus is a man with respect and dignity now, not a boy who doesn't know better. See the difference honey?"  
"I think so," the seven-year-old said, sticking the tip of her index finger in her mouth and starting to chew on the nail. Her mother reached up and pulled the hand away.  
"We'll trim your nails when we get home honey, stop biting," Rose said gently as Bisca came up with a box of ornaments. "So Bisca, you got everything you need for Christmas dinner?"  
"Yep. And Azuka's gonna help me cook it, right pumpkin?" the gunslinger said as her husband came up, carrying their daughter on his shoulders.  
"Yea! I wanna help Mama bake her Christmas cake!" the child cheered.  
"Oh? Is that so?" Mira asked as she came over as well and Alzack and Rose let their daughters get back down on the ground. The little girls ran over to a box and picked up an ornament each.  
"Yea! And Santa's coming tonight too!" Lexi cheered.  
"Oh really? Does he have presents for the two of you?" the white-haired Take-Over mage asked. The girls nodded.  
"Yea! He does!" they cheered again, neither noticing Alzack's face pale in color.  
"What's up?" Rose asked the man, catching his wife's attention with the whisper.  
"I forgot to wrap that one," he hissed.  
"What?!" Bisca cried. Alzack quickly covered her mouth but they'd already gotten the attention of the seven and five-year-olds.  
"Mommy, Daddy, what's wrong?" Azuka asked.  
"Nothing girls," the parents all said quickly.  
"Sorry. We just got so busy," Alzack whispered.  
"Hurry home and finish wrapping everything," Bisca said back. Alzack nodded and took off as the woman produced another ornament and handed it to the girls to put on the tree, distracting them from Alzack's sudden departure.  
"Is something wrong?" Erza asked.  
"No, he just forgot something," Bisca assured.  
________________________________________  
Jason's interview went on for hours as the reporter picked and prodded at anything that seemed scoop-worthy. From what Laxus did during his banishment to any philosophical advice he felt the younger generation should know.  
"So, rumor has it that the reason Fairy Tail is helping with the Cleanup Kardia Project is because of family involvement, correct?"  
"What are you talking about?"  
"There's a rumor going around that the Rose Dreyar in charge of the Cleanup Kardia Project is related to you. Any comments on that?" Laxus' eyes narrowed.  
"No comment. We're done," he said as he turned and started walking away.  
"Uh…what?"  
"Use your brain kid. I'm an S-Class Wizard. Meaning I've made some dangerous enemies. If they get their hands on information like who's close to me and all that, it'll paint bigger targets on my family's backs than I feel comfortable having. So off the record, yes Rose Dreyar is my half-sister from my father and Lexi Dreyar is my niece. But like I said, it's off the record. If I find out that Sorcerer Weekly published that information without the permission of myself or my sister, then I'll sue the magazine for endangering innocents." With that, Laxus stormed off. He knew what it felt like to be in the spotlight from a young age. Heck, he'd been around Lexi's age when he was first put in the Fantasia parade. He didn't want that kind of life for his niece.  
Laxus walked up the steps of the Cathedral as the bell suddenly began to ring. The Lightning Dragon Slayer looked up, startled.  
"Is it time to stop already?" Mira asked.  
"No…It's too early," Rose said as Bickslow, Lisanna and Pentherlily flew up towards the top of the steeple to investigate. Laxus heard a solid cracking sound and looked up just in time to see the bell begin to fall. He looked down and saw that the area where it would fall was mostly clear, save for Azuka and Lexi, involved in another game of tag.  
"Azuka!" Bisca screamed.  
"Lexi!" Laxus shot forward, turning to lightning as the bell crashed through the metal ceiling of the church, headed right for the girls. Lexi grabbed onto Azuka and covered her as much as she could. Laxus dismissed his lightning and wrapped his arms around the girls before leaping out of the way of the bell. The massive brass piece crashed to the ground with an almost empty sound as Laxus panted for air. Adrenaline was still racing through his blood as he held both tiny girls close to his chest. Everything to be moving in slow motion.  
Bisca came up and pulled a crying Azuka from him, leaving the man to clutch his sobbing niece to his chest. His hands shook as sounds seemingly blurred together. Lexi's sobbing, relieved sighs, whispers about how close that had been, more wondering what had happened and whispers about how he didn't seem to be acting like himself. He suppressed the urge to growl at them. Lexi was the one who needed his attention right then.  
"They don't know the first damned thing about me or my family! If I want to hold my niece after she was nearly crushed to death, I'll do it, dammit! If they have a problem with that, then fuck them!" he thought to himself as things began moving at a normal pace again. Rose raced over to him and threw her arms around him and Lexi. Tears were streaming down her face as she kissed her daughter.  
After a moment, Laxus handed his niece to his sister and stood up, hands trembling in rage and shock. He stormed around the broken bell until he found Gajeel, Natsu and Gray.  
"What the hell?!" the fourth Master roared, sparks of lightning flying off his person. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Bickslow help Rose to her feet and lead her outside.  
"Wait a minute Laxus, we can explain," Gray said as he sat up.  
"I don't give a fuck who started what bullshit! The fact of the matter is, someone started something that resulted in a nearly fatal situation! Are you two idiots even aware of the fact that your actions almost got Azuka and Lexi killed?!" Rai came up behind Laxus and sniffed at the bottom of the bell before stepping inside.  
"WAA! Somebody help me! It's got me by the tail!" Laxus snapped around as Rai pulled Happy from the inside of the bell, the blue cat hanging by his tail from the lion's mouth. Laxus' hands clenched until his knuckles turned white and his fists visibly shook.  
"What the hell were you doing in there?" the blonde growled.  
"I was playing a prank. The next thing I knew, there was this loud noise and I was all confused until this guy picked me up!" Happy yelled as he kicked at Rai's jaw, trying to break free. Laxus slowly came over, grabbed the cat and lifted him up so the feline looked him in the eye. Rai released the cat's tail and sat down to watch. Laxus growled at the cat and moved to stand in front of Natsu and Gray.  
"Yours," Laxus hissed through his teeth as he dropped Happy into Natsu's lap. "And furthermore, as you're the one who left the Cathedral with a huge number of issues we've cleared up over these last few days, Natsu, I've already figured out what your punishment will be for this. I hope you enjoyed Tenrou Island, Natsu and Gray, because until you two learn that there's consequences for your actions, you're not going to be considered for the S-Class trials whatsoever! Not as a candidate, not as a partner!"  
"What?!" both males yelled.  
"You can't do that!" Natsu objected.  
"I can, and I just did!" Laxus barked back. "Now what are you idiots doing just standing around! We said we'd have this place cleaned up by evening today!"  
"Right!" The Ice Make and Fire Wizards immediately leapt to work on fixing the bell. Laxus' hands were still shaking as he turned back to the assembled Fairy Tail Wizards. To hide it, he stuffed his hands in his pockets.  
"We don't have a lot of time left. I'll keep an eye on the two idiots and let's finish cleaning up the place!" Everyone practically jumped into action. Natsu, Gejeel, Gray, Levy and Happy fixed up the bell and its riggings and Elfman hoisted it back into place. By the time the stars came out, the bell was back in place and ready to ring.  
"I can't believe we actually finished it in time," Sonya sighed as Makarov dismissed everyone for the night.  
"Yea. Where's Rose?" the male Slayer asked.  
"I think she's back at home."  
"Okay. Can you go check on her? I have to go to the Guild and get the paperwork done so that my punishment gets carried out," Laxus said.  
"Of course. Once you're done, come over to Rose's okay?"  
"Yea. I hear ya," Laxus said as he left the Cathedral behind. Rai following after him. The blonde male was still in a state of shock as he made his way to the Guild Hall.  
________________________________________  
"So we finished it in time, what do you think Lucy?" Levy asked. Lucy snapped out of the daze she'd found herself in after the bell had fallen. She was standing in the steeple with Team Natsu, Gejeel and Levy, looking at the newly fixed and cleaned bell.  
"It looks good," Lucy said in response to Levy's question.  
"Of course it does, I put my all into it," Natsu chuckled as he slung an arm around Lucy's shoulders.  
"It looks good because everyone worked hard on it," Erza stated in a matter-of-fact tone. "But who was the one to start all this mess again with all the fighting and pranking?" Natsu, Gray and Happy stiffened slightly.  
"I'm sorry," the Exceed said. Lucy let out an awkward little chuckle before the group shepherded her away from the church and down the street. Lucy looked around as they walked but couldn't find any sign of the Thunder Legion, Laxus or Sonya.  
"Alright! Let's go party! I'm all fired up!" Natsu cheered, earning a similar cry from the rest of the group.  
"Alright! Yea, a Christmas party!" Lucy cheered as she continued watching the streets, trying to find a member of the Thunder Legion or her Pack.  
"This group always seems ready to party and goof off to me," Carla said from Wendy's arms. "I'm honestly surprised that-"  
"Erza?! What's wrong?!" Lucy cried, stopping dead in her tracks upon seeing Erza tensing like a wound up spring.  
"You okay?" Levy asked.  
"I've been waiting for this," the redhead said before leaping into the air. "Merry Christmas!" she cheered.  
"Merry Christmas!" Everyone but Lucy responded. The blonde checked the street again. No signs at all of the Thunder Legion or Laxus or Sonya. She shrugged.  
"Merry Christmas!" she cheered.  
________________________________________  
"Hey…Why are we having this party at my house?!" Lucy cried as everyone took a seat around the large table in the middle of her room.  
"What's the problem?" Gray asked with a shrug.  
"It's relaxing in here," Natsu said with a bright grin.  
"Aye!" Happy cheered as Gajeel, Levy and Pantherlily began a conversation about ceramic teacups versus metal teacups.  
"Such a cute little room," Juvia said with a sweet smile.  
"Although it's a little cramped," Carla added.  
"Well, I guess that's what happens when you jam so many people into one space, right?" Wendy defended. Before Lucy could get out any more objections, Erza threw her arm around the blonde's shoulders and neck, partially choking her as she pulled the girl into her hold. The redhead threw a cup into Lucy's hands before beginning to pour alcohol into it.  
"Come along Lucy! Tonight we celebrate a great victory!"  
"What victory?" the blonde asked.  
"Don't worry about it Lucy," Natsu said.  
"Yea. All that matters is that we won right?" Gray agreed, slinging an arm around Natsu's shoulders.  
"Uh…Okay?" Lucy said uncertainly as Erza tapped glasses with her.  
"Merry Christmas!" the redhead cheered before guzzling the alcohol down. Lucy hummed in agreement and drank down her glass as well, flinching as the drink burned its way down her throat.  
________________________________________  
Rai bumped his hand and Laxus reached over to pet the beast, realizing he wasn't walking down the street anymore, but rather sitting in the office of the Guild again.  
"Was it all just some dream?" he asked aloud before he shook his head. "No. I know it wasn't. Natsu and Gray didn't even care that they almost killed the girls." Laxus' hand clenched in Rai's mane at the thought. "How dare he. How fucking dare Natsu lecture me the way he did at Fantasia if he's hurting his 'best friend' the way he is Lucy? How dare he lecture me about any damn thing after all the shit he's pulled today alone?!"   
Rai gently closed his teeth on Laxus' hand. It was hard enough to draw him out of his musings but not hard enough to break the skin thankfully. The blonde pulled his hand free of Rai and looked over the desk.  
"What was I doing here again? Oh yea. Gray and Natsu's punishments." The blonde grabbed a piece of paper and jotted down a letter to the Magic Counsel, informing of how until further notice, Gray and Natsu were not going to be considered for the S-Class trials, either as partners or participants.  
Once that was done, he headed down the stairs to find the Guild mostly empty save a few people. Makarov, Cana and Kinana were the only ones at the bar, the old man with his head on the wood.  
"I can' drink no more," he slurred out slowly.  
"Wa?!" Cana cheered. "Ya sound pathetic ol' man! Hey Kina, keep the booze comin fer me!" she cried. Kinana chuckled but got Cana another mug of beer. Laxus sighed at his grandfather's antics before walking over.  
"Oh Laxus. Headed home?" Kinana asked as she handed Cana the mug.  
"Almost," Laxus said as he hoisted his miniature grandfather over his shoulder. "Just gonna drop this drunk off at home first."  
"Good night then. See you tomorrow for Christmas!" Kinana called as Laxus headed out into the lightly falling snow with Rai following behind him.  
"Wha ya doin La'us? I was jus' abou' a beat her!" Makarov objected.  
"You're the one who said you couldn't drink anymore geezer," Laxus chided. Makarov crossed his arms and Laxus was fairly certain the old man was pouting like a child.  
"La'us, I think we go' a stalker. Not e'en a cute one," the old man complained.  
"That's just Rai, Gramps. He's my lion."  
"I swear ya get yer dick issues from yer dad." Laxus groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.  
"I didn't think it was possible, but apparently it is," he muttered.  
"Wa's up?"  
"You're too drunk to carry on a conversation," Laxus snapped over his shoulder. The old man remained silent until Laxus entered his house and deposited his grandfather on the couch.  
"Why'd ya do it kid?" Makarov asked as Laxus grabbed a glass of water, pain meds and a blanket for the old man.  
"Don't know. Figured I might feel bad if you froze to death because you were so drunk you couldn't find your way home," Laxus said as he flung the blanket at his grand sire. "Get some rest. You'll need it for your hangover tomorrow."  
"Yer turnin' out alright ya cheeky punk," Makarov said as Laxus headed for the door. "Ya might just make a good Master yet." Laxus paused at the door before he headed back out into the snow.  
________________________________________  
It only took a few drinks for Lucy to be giggly and playful, for Levy to be roaring with laughter, Juvia to be crying her eyes out, Wendy needing to lay down to keep the room from spinning too much, Carla to start barking orders at the male Exceeds, and for Erza to start raging.  
"Gray, let's go," Natsu whispered to the Ice Make Wizard.  
"Yea." Erza stood up and threw a sword at the door.  
"Where d'ya think yer goin? Get me more booze! If you can' e'en do that…Get me more booze," she snarled out.  
"She said the same thing twice!" Levy giggled loudly as if Erza had told some grand joke. Then she started laughing at her index finger of all things.  
"Oh my darling Gray," Juvia hiccupped. "Why are you trying to leave me behind with these bimbos?!" Her hiccups turned to outright wails.  
"Hey, Hey Natsu!" Lucy giggled as she swayed from side to side, walking towards him. "I wanna play!" The blonde tripped over her own feet, sprawling on the floor. "I wanna play!" she giggled as she pawed at the air like a kitten.  
"The hell're you all standin' around for! Go get more booze!" Erza demanded.  
"You're a donkey, understand?! A donkey!" Carla screamed into Happy's ear as she hit his head over and over.  
"Aye," he groaned.  
"The stars are swimming in a big brown sea," Wendy said, her pitch rising and falling as her eyes moved to watch the light move around on the ceiling.  
"Now you two are reindeer get it?! Reindeer!" Carla screeched as she stood up on top of Pantherlily and Happy.  
"Aye," Happy said again.  
"But…I'm not…"  
"They're my reindeer!" Carla cackled as the two males began walking around on the floor. Gajeel could only watch in horror as his respectable warrior Exceed was reduced to such an extreme.  
"Hey, get a hold of yourself Lily!" He said before turning to Levy and gently shaking her. "Hey Levy. Hey!" Levy stopped laughing for a moment and stared intently at Gajeel's face. "What?" She burst into laughter again.  
"Gajeel! Where are your eyebrows! Your face looks funny!" she giggled. Gajeel released her arms and turned around. He needed to think up a plan for regaining control over the girls before something bad happened. However, thinking was hard to do when Levy started pulling on his hair. "Gajeel!" she cried, trying to get his attention. Lucy began crawling over to Natsu as Juvia went up to Gray.  
"Darling!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.  
"What now?" Gray snapped.  
"Look outside." The two did. "The snow is falling!"  
"So what of it?" Gray demanded.  
"It's just so sad!" the blue-haired Water Wizard cried as she wrapped her arms around Gray, ignoring his yelling for her to get off him. Lucy mad it over to Natsu.  
"Hey Natsu, can you make me do those cute purry noises that Rai can make?" she asked.  
"Why would you want to sound like that?!" Natsu cried.  
"I'll show you! Its super fun!" she cheered as she leapt up on him, tackling him to the floor before tickling his chin. "Purr…Purr…Purr…" she said quietly. Erza let out a yell of frustration before smashing the empty bottle of booze in her hand on the floor.  
"How dare they act all cuddly and couple-y while I have no one!" she screamed. "That is it! We shall settle this the old fashioned way! With the Guild Master's Game!" Erza grabbed a cup full of popcicle sticks and held it up.  
"The Guild Master Game? That sounds like fun!" Lucy cheered  
"What's that?!" Natsu cried.  
"I've heard about that game from Elfman!" Gray yelled. "It's the Devil's game!"  
"All of these sticks have numbers on them, save for one that has the mark of the Master. We all pull a stick and whoever has the mark of the Master is the Master for that round. They give an order such as 'Number 1 and Number 5 should do this and that' and that order is fulfilled by the people who have those numbers, understood?" The boys looked at the cup warily.  
"Sounds like fun!" Lucy cheered as Levy laughed.  
"Definitely," Carla agreed.  
"This'll get fun fast!" Levy cheered. Juvia went over to Wendy, bawling.  
"Oh Wendy! Here we are, about to have fun and you're going to sleep right through it!" she wailed. Wendy blinked a few times and gave Juvia a confused look.  
"What?"  
"Wendy!" Juvia cried with a smile as she threw her arms around the tiny girl. The two joined the rest of the group and everyone grabbed a stick.  
"Who's the Master?" everyone chanted as they pulled the sticks from the cups.  
"It's me! I'm the Master!" Erza cheered, leaping to her feet, holding the popcicle stick aloft.  
"Did she cheat?" Natsu asked.  
"Shut up Natsu," Gray snapped as Erza smirked.  
"Number 7 should…get completely undressed!" Everyone was shell-shocked for an instant before Gajeel stood up and disrobed before sitting back down. Happy and Natsu yelled in terror.  
"I just realized how serious this game is!" Happy cried. All the girls had flushed, red faces, save for Erza, who was smiling broadly.  
"Alright. Time for the next round! Gajeel, wouldn't it be nice if you became Master next?" she chuckled. Lucy gave Erza a weary look.  
"Wait Erza, I don't think we should play this game."  
"Love Rival is right. It sounds super dangerous," Juvia agreed.  
"Is this some kind of bad dream?" Wendy asked.  
"Hush child," Carla scolded as Erza held out the cup of pocicle sticks again.  
"Draw your weapons!" she yelled. Everyone drew one.  
"It's me!" Lucy cheered. "In that case. Number 1 and Number 3 should make a five-minute handshake!"  
"Too soft!" Erza screamed, causing the blonde to flinch. "Could it be that you don't understand the point of this game?"  
"It's that the Master's orders must be followed, right?" Lucy asked.  
"And you gave a bad order! This game is meant to bring forth an intense emotional reaction that is funny to those watching it unfold," Erza said with a bright smile.  
"So that's why I'm naked?" Gajeel demanded as Erza got behind Lucy. The redhead began squeezing the blonde's generous bust together.  
"As the First Master, I change the Second Master's order. Number 1 and Number 3 must grope the Second Master's breasts!"  
"Wait what?!" Lucy screeched as Levy and Juvia came over slowly. Each one took a side and started squeezing her breasts. Levy's grip was light and delicate. Meanwhile Juvia twisted and pinched and squeezed until Lucy almost cried out in pain.  
"Just be glad it's not one of the boys Lucy," Levy said gently.  
"Too big," Juvia sneered as the two pulled their hands away.  
"Too short!" Erza screeched. "The bare minimum time for any action is one minute! It's a rule of the game!" Lucy stood up.  
"No! I'm leaving! I want nothing more to do with this stupid game! Sonya and Laxus were right!" the blonde said as she headed for the door. Erza threw another sword, this one cutting into Lucy's cheek slightly before embedding itself in the wood.  
"Get back here and sit down!" Erza demanded. Lucy's fingers shook as she reached up and touched the cut on her face. Tears welled in her eyes. The two blue-haired Wizards put their hands back on Lucy's breasts.  
"How much longer until someone ends this game?" Lucy asked in a quivering voice.  
"Bare minimum of one minute?!" Wendy cried.  
"How vulgar," Carla chastised as the popcicle sticks went around again.  
"I got it! I'm the Master!" Happy cheered. Carla ran up to him  
"Happy, please don't do anything horrible," she begged. Happy chuckled, keeping his eyes shut.  
"Seems like he's got a good defense," Pantherlily commented.  
"Number 3 should spank Numebr 10's butt!" Happy declared. Erza nodded, smiling proudly.  
"Yes. Good choice Happy," she said. Lucy curled into a ball.  
"Laxus…Sonya…Somebody please help me," Lucy thought as tears began slipping down her cheeks, sliding into the cut. Natsu slapped Gajeel's bare butt and the popcicle sticks went around again.  
Wendy and Levy got a turn as Master before Erza got the stick again.  
"Such stupid orders…Don't underestimate me!" she roared. "Number 5 should perform a dance naked!" It took a second before Natsu disrobed and began dancing. Lucy covered her eyes.  
"Come on! Stop it with the naked orders!" she groaned. Erza scoffed.  
"It's not gonna be any real fun until a girl gets naked," she said.  
"You do realize that you're a girl, right? And some of us want some dignity when we get married you know," Levy snapped as the popcicle sticks went around again.  
"I'm the Master again!" Erza cried.  
"There's no way!" Natsu objected.  
"Bullshit!" Gray agreed. Wendy stood up, her tiny form trembling as she clasped her hands together.  
"Please Erza. No more naked orders?" she begged. Erza crossed her arms over her chest.  
"I see. Since it was you who asked, I should consider it," the redhead said. Wendy smiled. "But I refuse! Number 1 will get naked, get on all fours and scream the name of the person they love!"  
"Master Ur!" Gray yelled into the air. Juvia burst into tears again.  
"Oh my darling Gray! How could you betray my love like this?!" she wailed. Lucy curled even more into a ball.  
"Somebody get me out of here…Please." The sticks went around again.  
"Number 4 and Number 7 should dress up as dogs in maid costumes!" Erza chuckled. Wendy and Carla did as told and barked at her. "Howl!" The girls threw their heads back and howled. "While Number 6 goes shopping in their swimsuit!" Juvia vanished into the bathroom for a moment, then came out wearing a swimsuit. At that point, Erza allowed her to leave the apartment without throwing anything at her. "And Number 9 has to throw their underpants out the window!" Levy did as told, leaving Gajeel speechless and breathless for a moment as Levy attempted to use her shirt to cover her bare bottom half and used her hand to cover her quivering bottom lip. "Number 2 and Number 8 should kiss, while Number 3 has to say 'It feels good!' while having hot wax dripped on their back!"  
Lucy gulped. Her stick had the number 3 on it. She tried to back away but Erza reached out and grabbed her wrist tightly, pulling until Lucy's stick was in her face. Lucy pulled on Erza's fingers, trying to loosen the grip slightly. Her bones were creaking in her wrist, threatening to break. Erza smirked.  
"No, Erza please!" Erza threw Lucy down and yanked her shirt up until her entire back was exposed. Then she grabbed the back of Lucy's head and held it to the floor as the blonde tried to get away. A hot drop splattered on her back, causing her to yell out in pain.  
"Say it!" Erza yelled, kicking Lucy's leg harshly.  
"I-It feels good," Lucy said in a quivering voice before another drop fell on her shoulder blade. She cried out again. "It feels good…" she hiccupped. Another drop fell, making Lucy scream from the heat. "It…It feels good." Tears streamed down her cheeks.  
"What the hell Erza?!" Lucy was frozen for a solid second before she turned her head to see Laxus standing in the doorway, his eyes practically gold with lightning, teeth bared and nostrils flaring as his chest heaved.  
________________________________________  
Laxus let out a sigh as he entered Rose's apartment. Sonya was sitting on the couch with Erika in her carrier next to her. The male came over to her and placed a hand on her head. The caramel-haired Wizard jumped slightly and looked up.  
"Still on edge, huh?"  
"A little yea," she said with a sigh. "Rose is in Lexi's room with Bickslow. I stopped by the Guild Hall to get Erika. You doing okay?"  
"Yea. I was at the Guild too, making sure the Counsel knew Natsu and Gray aren't going to be in the S-Class trials at all for a while. Then I took Gramps home." Laxus turned as Freed and Bickslow left the bathroom. "Do I want to know?"  
"They offered to play with Lexi to help her calm down and she chose make-over," Sonya reported with a slight smile of her own. Laxus snorted out a laugh.  
"Hey, joke's on you because your niece as got some skills that make me look hot as hell!" Bickslow said as he took a seat on the couch and flopped out his tongue. Sonya giggled.  
Suddenly, pain shot through Laxus' back as if he'd been burned. He hissed as Sonya let out a little gasp and reached back, touching the spot on her back where the pain was coming from on Laxus'. Stormy-colored eyes widened as a realization slowly dawned on him  
"Where's Lucy?" Sonya's eyes widened.  
"I…I left her alone at Kardia when the bell fell!" she cried. Laxus rushed out the door and up the stairs to Lucy's apartment door. He twisted the knob and all but threw his weight into opening it.  
Empty bottles of alcohol, beer and wine were strewn on the floor. Gajeel, Natsu and Gray were all buck naked, Levy only had her shirt on and was tugging the edge down over her front, Wendy and Carla were dressed as maids and Pantherlily and Happy were kissing. Erza was bent over Lucy, holding a burning candle that was dripping wax onto Lucy's exposed back.  
"What the hell Erza?!" he roared, leaping forward and grabbing the candle and Erza's wrist in one hand, pushing them away from Lucy as another drip fell onto the floor.  
Lucy snapped around and looked up at him. Tears welled in her eyes and her bottom lip quivered. There was a cut on her cheek that had only just started scabbing over. She began wrestling her shirt over her breasts, moving it towards the wax cooling on her back. Laxus reached down and grabbed the shirt before it could and glared at Erza.  
"Lucy. I promise I'm not looking. But you can't pull your shirt down or it's gonna get stuck on the wax, okay?" He heard her hiccup and hum an affirmative response as the sounds of his teammates entering the room sounded.  
"Lucy!" Sonya cried as she rushed over and wrapped her arms gently around the girl. Laxus could feel the blonde start shaking as sobs wracked her body. He could smell the salt from her tears and she buried her face in Sonya's lap. His jaw and fist clenched around Erza's wrist, slowly crushing the candle.  
"What do you want us to do Laxus?" Freed asked.  
"Get Wendy and Levy some help. The boys can dress themselves. Leave Erza to me." In a few seconds, the boys were dressed again and sent home, Freed had ushered Wendy out of the apartment and Evergreen had wrapped Levy's bottom half in a towel before leading her downstairs to Rose's apartment.  
"I'm sorry," Lucy managed through her tears. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She kept repeating the words as Sonya ran a gentle hand over the parts of her back untouched by the wax, shushing her.  
"Lucy, none of this is your fault," she assured as Rose came over.  
"Let's bring her downstairs. I'll see what I can do for her back," the scarlet-tipped blonde said gently. Sonya nodded before helping her Pack Mate to her feet and ushering her out the door. Rose turned to Erza and clenched her teeth. "The hell's the matter with you, you fucking bitch!?" she yelled before leaving the apartment with Bickslow in tow, leaving the two S-Class Wizards alone.  
"What do you think you're doing Laxus?" Erza snarled, earning her a harsher squeeze on her wrist. Laxus hissed as some of the wax began to drip over his hand but he couldn't let Erza go without fear she'd summon a weapon and destroy the entire apartment building.  
"I was gonna ask you the same thing. As I'm outranking you as the fourth Master, you're gonna answer my question now."  
"We were playing a game!"  
"What fucking game involves embarrassing your friends like that and hurting them like this?!" Laxus roared, holding up the candle to Erza's face. A part of him was thinking he should let the candle drip on Erza, if only for her to feel the pain Lucy had, but another part told him to not to or Erza might well attack with weapons.  
"Guild Master Game!" Laxus squeezed harder and Erza released the candle. The male's reflexes managed to catch it before it could hit the floor and start a fire but he kept the grip on Erza's wrist constant, refusing to release the dangerous woman's hand.  
"Well as the fourth real Master of Fairy Tail, I declare this game over! You're going to go home and report to the Guild Hall tomorrow for Christmas. After the celebrations, I'll give you a punishment that suits what you've done tonight! Now get out!" The blonde threw Erza's wrist to the side and quickly left the room. Freed was already at work adding runes to the barrier around the house. "What are you adding?"  
"The inability to use magic unless one is invited to do so or lives here already so that Erza cannot attack the apartments," the green-haired Wizard said. Laxus sighed.  
"Thanks." He left his friend to his work and went into Rose's apartment. Lexi was sitting on the couch with her teddy bear, watching Evergreen and Bickslow who were acting as guards to Rose's bedroom, where Laxus could smell Sonya and Lucy's scents.  
"Uncle Laxus?" The blonde turned to his niece and went over to her when her lip started quivering.  
"What's up Lexi?"  
"Why did the yucky lady hurt Miss Lucy?"  
"Because she's a bad person honey. But don't worry, I won't let her get away with hurting Lucy. I promise." Lexi nodded.  
"I wanna help," she declared.  
"Don't worry Lexi. Sonya, the Thunder Legion and I can handle it," Laxus assured. Lexi shook her head.  
"I wanna help Miss Lucy feel better." With that, she set her teddy bear down and hopped off the couch, headed to the counter. She climbed up onto a stool before slipping onto the countertop and making her way to a ceramic pot in the corner. She opened the top, reached in and pulled out a golden-brown cookie with chocolate chips strew through it. Bickslow came over and helped Lexi down.  
"What's that?" he asked.  
"One of Mommy's cookies. She makes these a lot and they're really yummy. They always make me feel better, so I thought they might help Miss Lucy feel better too." Bickslow smiled and mussed the child's red hair.  
"That's very kind of you Lexi," Evergreen said as she came over and extended a hand. "Come on, I'll bring you into the room and you can give that to her." Lexxi took Evergreen's hand and the brunette knocked on Rose's door.  
"Come in!" Rose called. Evergreen poked her head in with a smile.  
"Hey. A little someone wanted to help Lucy feel better." Lexi quickly made her way in and Laxus took a look into the room. It was fairly small, decorated simply with a wardrobe in the corner a bed the same size as the one Lucy had upstairs and nightstand with a lamp.  
Sonya and Lucy were situated on the bed as Lexi padded over and set the cookie on the nightstand.  
"Oh thank you Lexi," Sonya said as she ran a hand through Lucy's blonde hair.  
"That's very sweet of you honey. Now let's leave them to Uncle Laxus, okay?" Rose said as she took her daughter's hand and led her out of the room. Laxus slipped into the room and made his way over as Evergreen shut the door.  
Lucy kept hiccupping sobs as she curled around Sonya, still apologizing. Laxus placed a hand on her shoulder and the girl tensed.  
"Lucy, you have nothing to apologize for. If anything, Laxus and I should be apologizing to you for leaving you alone like that," Sonya said as she maneuvered herself and Lucy to lay on the bed. Laxus followed suit and the girls used his arm as a pillow as he stretched it out under them. He placed his hand back on Lucy's shoulder as Sonya traced gentle circles into the top of her back.  
“We’re just starting out as a Pack so it makes sense we’ll screw up a few times,” Laxus muttered.   
"No. It's my fault. I should've seen what they were doing earlier and removed myself from the team!" Sonya shushed the girl as she sobbed again. Laxus' jaw clenched, tighter and tighter with each hiccup. It didn't sound right coming from Lucy. In all the time he'd known her, she'd practically been all smiles aside from when she'd complain about Natsu and his destructive tendencies. His inner Dragon was rattling in its cage, demanding justice for whoever had made its Mate cry. Laxus closed the mental door on the beast. Lucy needed him here, now. He couldn't just leave her again.  
"You were being accepted by them and due to how you'd lived before, you didn't want to be disliked or not accepted again. As to what Laxus said, we're just getting the Pack established. It makes sense that we're gonna mess up every now and again. But from now on, we're gonna be here if you need us Lucy," the caramel-haired female assured. Lucy clenched her jaw before she buried her face in Sonya's small chest and began sobbing.  
"Lucy…what the hell did those bastards do to you?" Laxus breathed as he gently touched the bandage on her cheek. Sonya ran a hand over Lucy's hair gently, humming to her. The three remained like that until they all dozed off for the night.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas morning for the Pack, and Laxus deals with Erza.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: Hey everyone. So with the last chapter, what I really didn't like was writing Lucy as a victim. She's the protagonist of the show, but now Hiro is so focused on Natsu that Lucy's becoming arm candy. This story is about Lucy, keeping her in the main character spot where she belongs, and having her begin to stand up for herself and grow back into who she was at the start, maybe even making her shine brighter. Considering she's now in a Pack with Laxus and Sonya, I'm excited to see where that will lead. Enjoy!

Awareness was slow to return to Laxus as he began to awaken. The smell of vanilla, strawberries, honey, pine and mountain air filled his nose as he slowly began opening his eyes. A soft, golden glow emanated from the lamp on the nightstand, filling the room with light. Sonya was laying on her side, one hand holding up her head off the pillow as she ran a hand through the blonde locks of the head on his shoulder. Laxus could feel Lucy pressed against his side and her upper half draped over his chest. One of her dainty little hands was held in his own on his shoulder and her other arm was stuck under his back. His other hand had been wrapped in bandages while he'd slept but he could feel the edges of taped-on gauze on Lucy's back.  
"Good morning. Merry Christmas," Sonya whispered.  
"Merry Christmas," Laxus said back softly, trying to keep from waking Lucy. "How long have you been up?" Sonya shrugged.  
"A few minutes or so." The male nodded as he gently and regretfully began removing himself from Lucy's gentle hold. "Where are you going?"  
"I gotta check something," he said as he slipped out of the bed and pulled the disturbed blankets up around Lucy. The sleeping blonde snuggled into the warmth with a little whimper and Laxus could see the slight red puffiness to her eyes and tear tracks on her cheeks.  
"Okay. Make it quick though. If Lucy wakes up and finds you're not here when you were last night, she might not take it too well." Laxus nodded and quietly left the room.  
Rai was laid out on the kitchen floor, still sleeping. The couch had been pulled out into a bed where Bickslow and Freed were sleeping. Laxus opened the other door and peered inside.  
The room was pink and had two bookshelves, one covered in books and the other with toys and pictures of Rose and Lexi as the years passed. There was even one near the top of Laxus holding Lexi at the old shrine in Shiratsume. In the corner was a small bed where Lexi and Rose were cuddling, Lexi's teddy bear off to the side. Right under the two, the bottom of the bed had been pulled out, revealing a second bed where Evergreen was sleeping while Erika's carrier had been put in a playpen and covered with a blanket.  
Laxus shut the door quietly and made his way out of the apartment before heading up the stairs to Lucy's apartment. He opened the door and looked around inside. His jaw dropped as his eyes went wide.  
The bed had been flipped over and the mattress now leaned against the window, shutting out most of the light. Most of the bottles from the night before were now smashed into pieces on the floor. The chairs had been flung into the walls and the table was overturned. Lucy's desk was in pieces and papers strewn about. The top half of a chest lay by the door and envelopes were strewn about the place. The Christmas tree that had been in the corner was now nothing more than a pile of broken ornaments, branches and a dented star to top it with. The presents underneath had been opened and thrown about the room. The temperature had dropped drastically in the place and Laxus could guess that someone had opened the refrigerator and left it that way. Laxus could hear clattering and mutterings in the bathroom.  
The blonde hurried back down the stairs and got his shoes on before daring to venture into the danger zone. His muscles trembled with rage as he slipped inside and began cautiously heading towards the bathroom.  
"Where could they be?" he heard as he grabbed the curtain. Laxus yanked the yellow fabric to the side to reveal Erza digging around under the sink, as if looking for something.  
"Scarlet!" he roared, not even feeling the slightest bit apologetic for it when Erza jumped in surprise, hitting her head on the inside of the cabinet before pulling herself out. As she slowly moved, Laxus surveyed the damage in the bathroom. The toilet tank's top was smashed on the floor with a glass that Lucy had probably used to rinse out her mouth. The blonde's shampoos and conditioners were thrown about the room, leaving streaks of the washes on the walls and floor along with her toiletries.  
"Laxus?!" Erza leapt to her feet and got into a battle-ready position. She couldn't summon her swords which meant she'd be relying on hand-to-hand combat. "Tell me Laxus! Where is Lucy! What have you done to her?!" the redhead screamed as she flung herself at him, swinging wildly to land hits wherever she could. Laxus reeled back, ducking, dodging and blocking where he could but she still managed to hit his shoulders and ribs a few times.  
The Lightning Wizard summoned his Magic and delivered a punch to Erza's side, not enough to really hurt her, but enough to stun her so he could remove her from the premises.  
"I told you last night to go home! It looks to me like you ransacked Lucy's place and directly disobeyed my order!" he barked, grabbing Erza's arm and twisting it behind her back before he began leading her towards the exit.  
"What are you talking about Laxus?! You did no such thing! We were celebrating our victory last night! I don't know what you did with the others but you will give Lucy back this instant!" Laxus whirled Erza around and slammed her into the wall, holding her arms behind her back and keeping an eye on her legs as he placed his feet on the edges of hers to hold them down.  
"What are you talking about Scarlet?" he hissed through bared teeth as lightning sparks began shooting off him.  
"We won Lucy back! You and Sonya won't deceive her with your tricks any longer!" Laxus' grip on Erza's wrists tightened until his blunt nails began digging into her skin.  
"Listen here you redheaded, control freak of a psychotic bitch! You were the one to hurt Lucy last night! Not me and not Sonya. When I came in here last night, Gajeel, Natsu and Gray were buck-ass nude, Wendy and Carla were dressed as maids, Pantherlily and Happy were kissing, Levy was half naked and you were holding Lucy down and dripping candle wax on her back! And you were smiling while she cried!" Erza's eyes went wide.  
"No…That's not possible. Lucy is my sister, if not by blood by bond! I would never harm her in such a way! You're trying to trick me! I will not allow-"  
"I'm not done!" Laxus roared, his shoulders hunching, making him look even bigger than her really was. "First off, you gave me the excuse it was the Guild Master Game when I asked you what was going on. Second, you kept people from leaving this apartment by throwing swords at the door! One of them cut Lucy's cheek! She still has the cut right now!" Erza began struggling against his hold.  
"Unhand me Laxus! You're trying to confuse me! I know I've never done such barbaric things! Only you would and have stooped so low!"  
"Another thing! Remember what I said about the dripping candle wax? You left fucking burns on her!"  
"Stop this Laxus, now I know you're lying! I've heard of wax play before, therefore even if anything of what you're saying is true, Lucy would be fine with candle wax on her back! It wouldn't leave burns!"  
"You really are a damned idiot, aren't you?!" the male roared in Erza's face. His muscles were trembling in rage as his eyes turned from stormy-gray-blue to a bright orange-gold. "Let me clarify for you. Yes, there is such a thing as wax play but those candles are designed to melt at lower temperatures! And those who do wax play know how high to hold the candle so it doesn't burn their partner! I highly doubt that Lucy has the right candles just laying around her apartment! And even if she did, holding the candle so close the flame was almost licking her skin, is not a good distance away!"  
"Silence! I will not hear any more of this!" Erza screamed.  
"Fine!" Laxus let enough of his Magic loose to knock the redhead out quickly. It did little to curb his rage and his muscles continued to tremble as he set the Requip mage on a clear place on the floor and began writing out the runes to teleport the redhead to her room in Fairy Hills and keep her there until it was time to come to the Guild for the Christmas celebrations.  
The Guild was going to be gathering for "Christmas Dinner" for lunch and a gift exchange through the afternoon. Then the members would be allowed to leave to celebrate the actual Christmas Dinner with family at home. Laxus' runes would keep Erza from leaving the Guild after the others were allowed to leave so that he could give her the punishment due for harming and humiliating her Guild Mates the way she had, not to mention the amount of complete disrespect for anything Lucy owned considering the state of the blonde's abode.  
Once the redhead vanished, Laxus stepped into the kitchen to shut the refrigerator and headed back downstairs to Rose's apartment. He let out a sigh of relief upon closing the door behind him.  
"Laxus?" The blonde looked up to see Rose looking at him with wide, horrified eyes.  
"What?"  
"What the hell happened?" she asked as she rushed over. Laxus looked down and was almost horrified to see there was a long cut across his chest and blood was seeping into his shirt.  
"Erza took some swings at me. I guess she must've grabbed a piece of glass or something and cut me with it while I wasn't aware," he said as his sister began pulling his shirt up and over his head before tossing it aside.  
"Sit down in the chair," Rose ordered as she headed to the kitchen. Rai let out a noise of concern as he came over and gently licked at Laxus' hand. The scarlet-tipped blonde came back after a moment, carrying a bag, a cup and a stone stick, and a damp washcloth. She handed the cloth to her brother. "Put that on the cut while I do this, alright?" Laxus did as told as Rose opened the bag and began working.  
From the bag, she pulled out some herbs, a bottle of water, some gauze and tape. She added the herbs and some water to the cup before taking the stick and mashing them together until they formed a paste. Then she spread the paste on the gauze before pulling the washcloth away from Laxus' chest and replaced it with the poultice.  
"Hold that please," she said, placing his hand on the gauze so that tape could be applied.  
"What exactly is all this?" Laxus asked as he sniffed the air. He could recognize lavender, pine, and yarrow but then there were others he couldn't quite name.  
"Herbs meant to stem bleeding, help with healing, and clean infection," she reported as she put the herbs and bottle of water away before taking the cup and stick to the sink to wash them. By her jerkish movements, Laxus could tell his sister was just as angry as he'd been a few moments prior. He stood up and went over to her, wrapping his arms around his sister's thin form.  
"Thank you Rosie," he said, resting his nose in her hair, his senses detecting faint traces of lemon, mint and sweat. If he focused enough, hecould smell his sister's identifying scent of a meadow in the dead of night, cherries covered in dark chocolate and early morning dew on grass. Rose placed a hand on his arm and gave it three gentle squeezes.  
"I still have a shirt or two of yours in my wardrobe. You can wear one of those today." Laxus chuckled and placed a gentle kiss on his sister's head before he headed to the bedroom Sonya and Lucy were in. He paused with his hand on the knob and looked back at the scarlet-tipped blonde.  
"Why would you still have my shirts?" Laxus asked. The tips of Rose's ears turned pink as she began twiddling her thumbs.  
"When times got bad, I'd put them on and they helped me feel better. Kinda…like an armor." Laxus chuckled.  
"Sentimental much sis?" Rose scoffed.  
"Oh please bro. You're the exact same." Laxus chuckled again as he entered the room, Rai following quickly. Sonya was holding the still-sleeping Lucy against herself, still combing her fingers through the blonde tresses.  
"You're back," Sonya said before looking at him. Her eyes widened upon seeing his chest. "What happened?" she hissed.  
"Erza," he said plainly as he went to his sister's wardrobe and looked through the shirts as Rai laid down on the foot of the bed. Laxus remembered leaving these shirts at the shrine, thinking he'd just take a quick job to earn some money to help his sister continue fixing up the place and maybe even buy a toy for his niece. He grabbed a sleeveless black shirt with fur lining the collar and edges of the arm holes. He slipped it on and was pleased to see no part of the cut was visible once the clothing was donned.  
"Didn't you tell her to leave last night?" Sonya whispered as Laxus came back over and laid down in the bed.  
"Yea, I did. She chose to not to and apparently forgot everything she did while drunk. So she completely ransacked Lucy's place trying to find everyone." Sonya's jaw tensed.  
"Are you serious?" she hissed. Laxus nodded as Lucy shifted in her sleep, curling up into his side again. He placed a hand on her back, feeling the tape and gauze under his bandages.  
"Yes. I knocked her out and put runes on her that teleported her to her room in Fairy Hills and will keep her there until it's time for the Guild's Christmas celebrations. I'm hoping she'll keep it together enough to not ruin them. But afterward, I'll be dishing out proper punishment on her," the blonde said as Lucy shifted again, resulting in a position very similar to the one Laxus had awoken in earlier.  
"I see." Sonya came over and cuddled into Lucy's back as gently as she could and covered the blonde female's pale, dainty arm with her own tanned, muscular one.  
The two Dragons Slayers remained still and quiet until Lucy began shifting and groaning, alerting them to her awakening. The two watched as her brown eyes slowly opened, revealing the slightly pink tint around the irises.  
"Good morning Lucy," Sonya said gently.  
"Merry Christmas," Laxus added. Lucy looked at the two for a moment before groaning and rubbing at her temples. "Hangover?" the male asked. The Celestial Wizard nodded as she tucked her head into Laxus' side to block out more light and the door opened.  
The Dragon Slayers looked behind them as Rose came into the room, carrying a tray with three mugs. She smiled as she neared the bed and Rai looked up at her happily.  
"Morning everyone," she said as she handed a mug to Sonya. "I figured Lucy would have a hangover from last night, so make sure she drinks this and takes these." Rose handed a mug and a packet of pain reliever to Laxus and he sniffed the drink a couple times. He could recognize lavender, mint and ginger but then there were other scents he couldn't name. "And then this is for you." She handed over one more mug of herbal drink to her brother before leaving the room. Lucy looked up at Laxus and he handed over the first mug and packet of pain medication before taking a sip of his own, inhaling the scent of lemon and mint in particular. Lucy sipped gingerly at her tea to wash her pain meds down as Sonya took deep gulps. It didn't take too long for them to finish the drinks and the three set the empty mugs on the nightstand.  
"I'm sorry," Lucy whispered, earning her surprised looks from Sonya and Laxus.  
"What are you apologizing for?" the male asked.  
"I kept you guys here all night, didn't I?"  
"I'm stopping you right there," Sonya said firmly. "I don't want to make you any more upset than you already are Lucy, but I have to say this. You did nothing wrong. Laxus and I are here for you, not just because we're a Pack, but because we care enough about you to look out for you and look after you if you need it. Erza took advantage of the fact that we left you alone at Kardia. This Pack is just starting out, so we're all going to make mistakes. What's important is how we fix those mistakes, understand?"  
"Yes…But-"  
"No buts," Laxus interjected as he pulled himself out of the bed. "You did nothing wrong, end of story. Even I hesitate in the idea of fighting Erza directly but for only a couple reasons. The first one is that she uses weapons that provide more reach in a fight in comparison to the range I'd get out of hand-to-hand, close-combat situations. The second reason is when she gets angry enough, she becomes wild, and it's hard to keep a lid on the fight even without her getting angry. Like you've probably seen on your jobs, Erza and the rest of your team have no regard for what they destroy so long as they get to fight something." Lucy nodded, biting her bottom lip. Sonya wrapped an arm around her shoulders.  
"Lucy, I've looked over your file and heard stories about you from other members for years. When you first arrived at the Guild, you were independent, you were tough stuff, heck, it was you who managed to get everyone to stop arguing during Fantasia and take down the Thunder Palace. You're the daughter of Jude and Layla Heartfilia, who started out as entrepreneurs and in a few years amassed a similar fortune to people who inherited their wealth over countless generations. But because of how your father treated you as a child, Natsu, Gray and Erza took advantage of the joy you got by being accepted in order to get what they wanted..." The caramel-haired woman bit her lip gently.  
"Hm?" Lucy hummed, wiping at her watering eyes.  
"Lost my train of thought," Sonya muttered.  
"I think what Sonya is trying to say is that, those three took advantage of giving the acceptance you wanted because of your dad's neglect. But now you're completely aware of it. So, what do you want to do about it?" Laxus asked. Lucy looked between Laxus and Sonya a few times before she looked down at her lap.  
"I want it to stop." A gentle knock on the door brought the trio's attention to Rose as she popped her head in.  
"Hi, I'm making cinnamon rolls for breakfast. You guys want some?"  
"Yes please," Sonya said, raising a hand.  
"Sure," Laxus said before glancing at Lucy, who smiled slightly and nodded.  
"In fact, let me come help you," the blonde said as she got out of the bed and hurried out into the kitchen. Rose smiled and turned to begin baking. Laxus and Sonya looked at each other for a moment before the caramel-haired woman slipped out of bed. Rai hopped off the bed and followed the two as they headed out.  
Freed and Bickslow had awakened and the green-haired mage was listening to Lexi reading in between them. Evergreen was seated in the chair, sipping at a cup of tea.  
"Morning Laxus," Bickslow greeted, making the other two look up at their leader.  
"Merry Christmas Laxus," Freed said. Lexi put down her book and ran over to her uncle.  
"Lexi, don't jump on him," Rose said as she and Lucy mixed the ingredients together. Lexi paused in her tracks and looked at her mother.  
"Is he hurt?" she asked.  
"Laxus got a cut across his chest from Erza this morning," the mother reported. Lexi looked at her uncle with big, saddened eyes.  
"What?!" Freed, Bickslow and Lucy all cried as they turned and looked at the blonde male. He groaned.  
"Thanks sis." Rose shrugged as Laxus picked his niece up. Lexi placed a hand on the area where the gauze was and let out a little whimper.  
"Does it hurt Uncle Laxus?" she asked.  
"It hurt a little but not anymore Lexi," the male assured.  
"I put a poultice on it when he came back downstairs to help keep it clean and help it heal but it and Lucy's burns will probably be best healed if Wendy handles them," the scarlet-tipped blonde said simply as she dusted the counter with flour and began rolling out the dough.  
"That's true, Rose. But I think we should tell Master what happened first. Then have Wendy heal everything," Lucy said. "Does that work for you Laxus?"  
"Yes. Like I said, it doesn't hurt now," the male blonde said as he sat down on the couch with his niece on his knee. "I already have an idea for Scarlet's punishment in mind. I just need to talk to Gramps, make sure he doesn't void it when Erza gets upset about it." Lucy nodded as Rose spread the cinnamon filling over the dough before rolling and cutting it to size. The two blondes set the treats in trays and set them in the oven. Lucy, Rose and Sonya took seats on the stools.  
"That should be all for now," Rose said. "I would suggest we get changed so we can eat. Laxus, if you can teleport your teammates home so they can change, we can get dressed here. After all, Sonya has a couple outfits here from babysitting Lexi." Sonya nodded as she went over to the door and slipped on her shoes.  
"I'll head up to Lucy's and get her a change of clothes so she doesn't have to see what Erza did." Lucy's eyes widened.  
"Why? What did she do?!"  
"She apparently forgot what happened last night and ransacked the place looking for you and your team," Laxus replied. Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed.  
"Still, I need to assess the damages and inform my landlady of anything major." Rose went back into her room and came back with a pair of green rain boots.  
"Here. Use these. Laxus had broken glass in the bottom of his shoes when he came back so be careful," she said. Lucy slipped the boots on and went upstairs with Sonya as Laxus began teleporting his teammates to their respective homes and then went to his own home to get dressed. Upon his completion, he checked on his teammates and took them back to Rose's apartment for breakfast.  
When they arrived, Lexi paused in pulling a red sweater over her teddy's head. The little redhead wore a little red velvet dress with tiny, pale-colored flowers on the skirt. Her feet were decked with pure white socks with a ruffle on the top and her red hair was pulled into a ponytail with a black ribbon. Rose herself had pulled her hair into a bun that hid most of the scarlet tips and wore a pale-green sweater and khakis. Rose had added a skillet of bacon to the stove top as another pan was busy cooking something that smelled like rabbit.  
"What ya making?" Laxus asked as he and his team removed their shoes.  
"Rai's breakfast," Rose answered simply. "Sonya hunted this for me last week before she went to Tenrou and I figured the big guy could use something special for breakfast. Is that okay?"  
"Yea. Actually, the zoo I talked to said it would be a good idea to change up his diet every now and then with some rabbit and the like." Rose nodded as she grabbed some juice out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter. Rai watched her patiently, his tail swishing from side to side in excitement. Laxus pet the lion's head as he took a seat at the counter before the opening of the bathroom door made him turn. Lucy and Sonya came out giggling slightly.  
The blonde was dressed in a pretty green turtleneck and a khaki skirt that reached her knees. Sonya had helped her do her hair so a pair of braids that looked like a tiara decorated with white, green and red beads connected at the back of her head and the rest hung down around her shoulders. Sonya was dressed in a red cable-knit sweater with khaki slacks. Her own caramel-colored hair had the same style of tiara-like braiding as Lucy before all of her hair was pulled into a single braid down her back. The same colors of white, green and red were sprinkled through the caramel tresses. Erika was looking around at everything from the crook of Sonya's arm, dressed much like Lexi, but her dress was green instead of red and she had a dark-green band with a bow around her head.  
"Wow," Laxus said, his eyes looking over his two Pack Mates. Sonya and Lucy smiled at him. The tips of his ears turned pink as he schooled his expression. "How's the damage?" he asked. Lucy let out a strained chuckle.  
"Well, the good news is that aside from some scratches on the floor from the broken glass and ceramics, the only real damage is some wall, which just needs to be touched up, and the holes in the door and jamb. Aside from that, Lucy should only have to cover a replacement for the toilet tank for her landlady," Sonya reported. "However, cleaning everything up might take a little time."  
"In that case, how about we help you out with cleaning up?" Evergreen asked as the two Celestial Wizards sat at the counter.  
"Oh no, you guys don't have to," Lucy insisted.  
"Miss Lucy, we saw most of the damage Erza caused last night," Freed said.  
"Yea. If she was half as destructive in your place this morning as she is on your guys' jobs, I'm surprised the walls are there at all," Bickslow added. Lucy let out another strained chuckle as Rose pulled the cinnamon rolls from the oven, turned off the stove and used a pair of tongs to set the bacon on a plate and the rabbit in a bowl. Rai licked at his lips as the female Dreyar set the bowl down in front of him and waited until her hand was away from the food before he began to eat.  
"He's so well-behaved for a wild animal," Rose commented as she patted the spot between Rai's shoulders. Her patting paused and she rubbed over the spot.  
"What is it?" Laxus asked as he looked where his sister was patting. Most of the spot was covered by soft mane and a cut or two from the scorpion's tail.  
"Is he supposed to have a bump here?" she asked. Laxus came over and felt the spot as well. Sure enough, there was a bump under Rai's skin. And what alarmed him was when he pressed on it and it moved. He removed his fingers for a second and then felt the area again. The bump was still where he'd pushed it.  
"I don't think so. Since it's around where Jose's scorpion tail likely cut him a couple times, something probably got in there. I'll bring it up when I see the vet next week and see if we can remove it without hurting him," Laxus said as he patted Rai's side. Rose petted the mane before getting up and serving her guests.  
"Poor darling. I can only imagine what he's been through. It makes his good behavior and calm demeanor even sweeter," she cooed before biting into a piece of bacon. Laxus shrugged as he took a serving of the frosting Rose had made and bit into his cinnamon roll, earning him a surprised look from Lucy and Sonya.  
"What?"  
"I didn't expect you to be the kind of guy to really like cinnamon rolls," Lucy admitted, Sonya nodding. Rose and the Thunder Legion burst into laughter.  
"Laxus may not look like it, but he actually has quite the sweet tooth," Rose said. Lexi beamed and raised her hand.  
"I do too!" she cheered. Laxus gently high-fived his niece before the two took another bite of their breakfasts.  
"Seriously?" Sonya asked.  
"I can control it just fine," Laxus said. "Like if I'm on a job, sugar makes me hyper-"  
"Aware of stuff going on around you?" Sonya said. "Because that's what happens to me."  
"Must be a Dragon Slayer thing," Rose sighed. "I just get a kid who can't stop bouncing off the walls." Lexi giggled and took another bite of cinnamon roll.  
"Hey, can I get you guys to help me out today?" Sonya asked as she fed Erika. "I'm supposed to help Kinana set up for Christmas."  
"Of course, we'd be happy to help," Freed said.  
"Count me in. After last night, it's the least I can do to thank you," Lucy said.  
"You can always count on us," Rose said with a nod. Sonya smiled.  
"Thanks guys," she said. Laxus smiled a little as he finished off his cinnamon roll. Erika began fussing in Sonya's arms.  
"I got her. Eat your breakfast," Laxus said as he picked Erika out of Sonya's arms and placed her burping blanket on his shoulder before patting the infant's back.  
"You know, you've gotten really good with babies," Rose commented.  
"Oh yea, he helped with Lexi when she was a baby, right?" Lucy asked as she sipped on her juice.  
"Well…At first he was terrified. Like…If-I-breathe-wrong-this-baby-will-die levels of terror. But by the end of the month, he was comfortable to a certain level. And now, his Pack Mate has adopted a baby that seems to be fitting into his life just fine," Rose said with a chuckle. Sonya smiled.  
"Yea. I'm actually kind of surprised. Given Laxus is an Alpha, I thought he'd be keeping Erika in a more Lounge idea for a while. But then again, within the Fairy Sphere, time didn't pass at all so technically, Laxus saw Lexi as a baby less than a couple weeks ago. If I had to say, his instincts are now more accepting of infants in particular because he has a Nest member who should still be a baby to him," Sonya said, watching the two. Laxus' eyebrow raised as Erika let out a little burp.  
"What are you talking about?" he asked.  
"You mean with Lounge and Nest? It's more Dragon terms. Nest is kinda like immediate family. Like for me, my Nest Mates would be Kinana, Alzack, Bisca, Rose, Lexi, Erika, Azuka, and the others I consider close friends at the very least. Lounge is more like the rest of the Guild, like Macao, Wakaba and Nab," the caramel-haired Wizard explained.  
"So basically, for Laxus, his Pack are you and Lucy, his Nest is the Thunder Legion, Lexi, Erika and myself at the least, and the Lounge is the Guild, right?" Rose asked, earning a nod from Sonya.  
"Basically," she said as she got up. "I'll be back in a second." The caramel-haired Wizard went into Lexi's room and came back carrying Erika's carrier and diaper bag. She set the infant supplies on the coffee table and put her coat on as Laxus put Erika in her carrier and Rose and Lucy cleaned up the breakfast dishes.  
Once the dishes were clean and put away, everyone put on their coats and shoes and headed for the Guild Hall. Lucy carried Erika's diaper bag as Sonya carried the infant's carrier. Bickslow had Lexi perched on his shoulders and was making funny faces to keep Erika entertained as his babies flew around overhead. Evergreen and Rose were talking and Laxus, Rai and Freed brought up the rear. As they walked, Freed started chuckling to himself.  
"What's up?" Laxus asked. Fred smiled and shook his head.  
"Hard to believe that after everything we've been through, in less than two months, our little family of nine has turned into fourteen. And last time we partook in a Guild's Christmas celebration feeling like this was before Ivan did what he did," the green-haired Wizard said. Laxus chuckled.  
"Good point. After that shit happened, I never would've thought that this would be how things turn out," the Lightning Dragon Slayer agreed.  
"Just this year alone, you've become Fourth Master, have found your sister and niece, you have Miss Lucy and Sonya and little Erika, and Rai follows you willingly. For us, we've reconnected with the Guild, reconnected with you, I got selected for the S-Class trials-"  
"That reminds me. How did Cana and Lucy beat you and Bickslow?" Out of the corner of his eye, Laxus saw Lucy glare at Bickslow and the Seith Mage flinched.  
"That's…erm…rather that is…" Laxus' eyes widened as the Rune Mage appeared at a loss for words, a rare sight in and of itself.  
"Did you guys throw the fight to let us win?" Lucy asked.  
"No way Cosplayer! We gave you everything we had!" Bickslow defended. "Everything! Everything!" his babies copied.  
"Yea!" Lexi agreed as if she'd been there, earning a laugh from the adults.  
________________________________________  
"Sonya, welcome home!" Kinana cried happily as she rushed around the bar and hugged the caramel-haired girl. Sonya hugged back with a smile. Laxus looked around the Guild. Boxes of Christmas decorations were lined up against one wall, and a pile of presents for the gift exchange was on one of the tables and Makarov was already seated at the bar, nursing a hair of the dog that bit him for his hangover.  
"Hey Kina. I brought some help for the setup," Sonya said as she pulled back.  
"Just tell us where you need us Kinana," Rose said as Bickslow set Lexi down on the ground.  
"Alright. We've already got what we need in terms of decorations. We need the lights strung up on the rafters, the tree set up and if I can get some help cooking, I'd appreciate it," Kinana said as she hurried back to the kitchen. Sonya placed Erika's carrier on a table and started removing her coat.  
"I'll go grab the playpen Alzack and Bisca gave me. Lexi, can we leave you in the pen with Erika for a bit?"  
"Yea! Leave it all to me!" Lexi cheered, standing tall and proud at the idea of being left with such a responsibility. Sonya hurried upstairs and came back down with the folded-up playpen after a couple minutes. Lucy and Rose went to Kinana to help with the cooking as Evergreen began stringing lights on the rafters and Bickslow and Freed set up the Guild's Christmas tree.  
Laxus watched as Rai went over and bumped his nose against the bar stool Makarov was seated in. The old man looked and smiled.  
"Well, well, now, I see our little stalker appears again," he said as he reached down and petted the lion. Laxus walked over and took a seat by his grand sire.  
"How're you doing this morning?" he asked, drumming his fingers on the bar. Makarov groaned.  
"I took pain killer but my head's still pounding. The next time I get it in my head to challenge Cana to a drinking contest, shoot me, my boy." Laxus shook his head as his grandfather softly chuckled before turning to watch Sonya place Lexi in the playpen with Erika's carrier before the caramel-haired Wizard began moving the tables around for the right placement for the Guild's lunch. "So, that little redhead is my great-granddaughter."  
"Yes she is. Her name's Alexis but she likes being called Lexi," Rose said as she leaned back against the bar.  
"Oh? And where did that name come from?" Makarov asked, turning to his granddaughter.  
"Well…When I was little, Mother wasn't really around and Ivan would come around every now and again to train me to join Raven Tail's ranks, but there was this old doctor, Bartholomew, that lived nearby and he let me stay with him and his kids when I didn't live up to Ivan's expectations for what he wanted to be able to beat my stronger, older brother. The doctor was kinda like a second father to me while I grew up. One of his kids, Erik, and I became pretty close. When I turned fifteen, Erik and I started sleeping together until almost a year later, when the doctor had to leave and take his kids with him. A little after that, I found out I was pregnant and so I ran away to Shiratsume and decided that I was going to take on being a better parent than either one of mine. So I decided to name my child after their uncle, who inspired me, even when he was 'competition' as Ivan put it," the scarlet-tipped blonde explained, smiling at her brother. Laxus looked away, the tips of his ears turning pink.  
Even while in Shiratsume, Laxus had never heard that story. He just figured Rose had liked the name. The fact that his sister both knew about him and was inspired by him before he even knew about her existence was somewhat terrifying and equally gut-wrenching. While she'd been taking care of herself and baby Lexi, not to mention fixing up the shrine in Shiratsume while he'd been tearing his Guild apart from the inside. His sister, who he'd had no connection to, no knowledge of, no clue towards her existence whatsoever, had named her daughter to honor him. Him, of all people. His team had been ripping a Dark Guild apart in the same town she'd been living in at the same time without knowing she was even there!  
"You should've named her after her father, not me," he said. Rose shrugged.  
"It was my choice. And if I had named her after her father, we'd have two little Erikas running around and personally, that would drive me crazy," she said plainly as she returned to her cooking.  
"I take it you didn't know that bit?" Makarov asked.  
"No. I didn't," the blonde said. Makarov patted his grandson's arm.  
"Take it as a compliment, my boy. My godmother named me after a prince in some story she read in years past, your grandmother named your father after her sister who died as a child and my father and your mother named you after her parents. We choose to keep what we hold dear very close to our hearts. Rose was born without our knowledge, but she knew who she was. It saddens me that a member of my family grew up for so long without my knowledge, but her naming her child after you does tell me something quite important."  
"And what's that?" Laxus asked.  
"I recall one time when you came to my office and were angry about being overlooked. I find it very interesting that it was a sister you never even knew existed saw you enough to be inspired the way she was," the old man said with a smile as he looked back at his great-granddaughter, who was now sitting next to Erika's carrier, singing Christmas songs to the baby.  
"Yea. I remember that too," Laxus said. "Gotta say though, being with Rose and Lexi helped me put things in a bit of perspective. I mean, while I was working there, literally no one but those two would see anything I did. And those two knowing was more satisfying than most anything I did in this place. I think what I was looking for was more…not being overlooked by you, old man."  
"I admit I've made mistakes in the way I handled raising you and the other children of the Guild. But I am only human and I was still reeling from finding what I'd done to raise your father had ended up with you and Freed getting hurt. I had no idea where I went wrong with him and I was honestly terrified that I was gonna make the same mistake with all of you," Makarov said as he rubbed his temples.  
"I understand Gramps. Heck, when I first held Lexi, I was literally so terrified that I'd hurt her that I barely breathed. I mean, she was literally so small I could fit her in one arm, her head fit in my palm. I'd never even thought about the idea of holding a baby ever in my life, yet there I was. I was so scared that if I twitched wrong, I'd break her, possibly kill her. But now…I'm more upset that I let myself think like that at all. If I hadn't maybe I'd've had more time to hold her before I left."  
"But now you have Erika to hold. Not to mention Sonya and Lucy, cheeky punk." The two chuckled slightly, unaware of Rose smirking as she listened to their conversation.  
"That does bring me to a point we need to discuss," Laxus said solemnly. Makarov looked at his grandson sternly, the seriousness of the old, wizened grey eyes matching those of the scarred, more youthful ones.  
"And what would that be?"  
"Erza. Last night, I found her holding Lucy down, dripping candle wax on her back. Meanwhile Lucy was crying, Gajeel, Gray and Natsu were naked, Pantherlily and Happy were kissing and Carla and Wendy were dressed as maids and Levy was half-naked. That's not even the worst part. Apparently, Erza had allowed Wendy to get drunk. And when someone tried to leave, she threw a sword at them. One of those actually cut Lucy's cheek." The old man's eyes widened in horror as the report came out.  
"Is this true Lucy?" he asked. Lucy peeled the bandage on her cheek away to reveal the cut and then came around the bar and lifted her shirt to show her lower back, where Laxus peeled back the gauze Rose had taped over some of the burns. Makarov sighed grimly as the two righted Lucy's clothes.  
"She forced us to play the Guild Master Game. What Laxus and the Thunder Legion didn't see was that she sent Juvia shopping in her swimsuit and let Wendy get so drunk that she actually passed out for a couple seconds. And when Laxus and Sonya took me away from her, Laxus gave her an order as the Fourth Master to leave my apartment, she disobeyed and remained in my apartment. This morning she'd completely ransacked the place," Lucy explained. Makarov hummed grimly. "But this isn't the first time this has happened to me, at least as far as the ransacking goes. Natsu and Gray fight in my apartment and either break a piece of my property or that of my landlady's and I have to pay to fix it."  
"This is very unsettling to me," the old man said as the doors to the Guild opened and in came Gajeel and Pantherlily.  
"Oi Master! Got a second?" the Iron Dragon Slayer asked as he came up to the bar.  
"Of course my boy. But please keep your voice down, my hangover is killing me. What is it?" Gajeel locked eyes with Laxus and then turned back to the smaller Master.  
"We got a problem in the Guild. Last night-"  
"Erza caused harm to fellow Guild members. We were just discussing that," Laxus said.  
"This is most troubling. The fact that Erza would use her swords and her strength against her Guild mates in such a manner. Where is she now?"  
"She was attempting to get violent with me in Lucy's apartment so I knocked her out and put runes on her to keep her at Fairy Hills until it was time to come here," Laxus said. "So she should still be there because I don't think she has figured out how runes work."  
"Well then. I think I've heard enough at this point,' the old man said crossing his arms over his chest.  
"You have?" Pantherlily asked.  
"Yes. And I've made my decision as to what will happen."  
"And that is?" Laxus asked. Makarov hopped down from his stool and headed up the stairs.  
"I'm going to go take a nap in the office. This hangover is killing me! If you have any problems, take them up with the Fourth Master!" the old man called before shutting the door to the office. Laxus was struck dumb. He looked from Lucy to Gajeel.  
"Did that just happen?" he asked. Lucy smiled at him.  
"I do believe it did, Fourth Master," she said.  
"So, you got a clue on how to handle Scarlet?" Gajeel asked, turning to him.  
"One. Considering the lack of respect shown by Natsu, Gray and Erza for Lucy, to the point where Erza claimed they won Lucy like she was some kind of prize, not to mention the amount of damage the team causes on jobs, I'm dissolving Team Natsu and as for Erza's actions in particular last night, I'm removing her S-Class rank. Lucy. I want you to get estimates for what you've done for your team. I mean, how often they've destroyed something of yours in your home, food, the money you've spent on cleaning Gray's clothes, even times you were late on rent because of them. That never should've been happening from the start so they'll be paying you back what they owe." Lucy bit her lip.  
"Laxus, I don't know about that last part. I mean…I did it because I was their friend," she defended.  
"And yet they treated you like crap. It never should've been happening. You're not their mother, you're not their maid, and you're not their laundry service or food pantry. Even with my team, we all pitch in with everything. No one person plays parent for the rest of us," Laxus said.  
"Laxus," Sonya said, earning the attention of the assembled Wizards as she walked up to them. "She said she's not comfortable with that idea. While I agree that having her come up with a total of what they would owe her based on how much she's lost because of this team's recklessness would help drive home the idea of the team being dissolved, she originally did it as a favor for her friends, out of the kindness of her heart and not for repayment. I think we should let her stew this over for a bit."  
"Yea man, listen to your sister," Gajeel said. Laxus blinked a couple times.  
"Rose is my sister, that's Sonya," the blonde male corrected. Gajeel looked between the two.  
"But aren't you three a Pack?" he asked.  
"Yes we are," Sonya said with a nod.  
"Then yea. She's essentially your little sister."  
"You're talking about a Nest, Gajeel," Sonya sighed. "No one has called a family situation like the relationship Laxus and Freed have or that Kinana and I have, a Pack in over five hundred years, aside from the royalty of the elements and those related to them. The word used is Nest. The Pack is the intimate group."  
"Huh? But that's how Metalicana explained it to me. A Nest is the group that does the dirty, Pack is offspring, parents, and siblings, Lounge is good friends and the like," Gajeel said. Sonya rubbed at her forehead as Lucy's face turned slightly red.  
"Yea. Metalicana. One of the cousins to the Iron Dragon King, Tetsujin. Their grand sire was Ryuken, another Iron Dragon King. So it would make sense that he call it that. But no. To commoners like me and Draco, a Pack is the group that does the dirty because of the Alpha/Beta/Omega thing, a Nest is the family like parents, offspring, and siblings because those are the ones Dragons share nests with, and a Lounge in human terms would basically be the Guild."  
"Oh I see," Gajeel said. "Guess since Metalicana was related to a King, it makes since he'd talk like one."  
"Yea," Sonya agreed. "Any other Dragon words you wanna go over?"  
"Nah. But that would probably make sense why Salamander went crazy on ya when your Iron Heroes told you about being in a Pack with Laxus. He was raised by Igneel and one time told me he was a Nest Mate of Bunny Girl here," Gajeel pointed out. Sonya groaned.  
"Igneel? As in the son of Vulcous and Ignatia, Igneel? The Fire Dragon King?"  
"The very one." Sonya set her head on the bar and groaned again.  
"We're screwed."  
"Why's that?" Laxus asked. Sonya held up her head and sighed.  
"Because Natsu was raised by one of the most stubborn, stuck-in-his-ways, pain in the ass Dragon Kings to ever exist. Igneel's father died before Igneel reached maturity. Literally it would be like if Princess Hisui was only five years old and King Toma died, leaving the Kingdom to Hisui."  
"Wait, wouldn't his Queen have been ruling then?" Laxus asked. Sonya shook her head.  
"No. See, we often think that there's a King for every Queen and vice versa. But the truth is, that's not the truth. See, in kingdoms like ours as well as in the Dragon lineages, you got the throne based upon your blood. Like today in Fiore, our ruler is King Toma. His wife is not the Queen per say, but rather his royal consort. She has no Fiore blood. If the King dies, the throne goes to the King's daughter Hisui, she's the oldest child. If something happens to her, it'll go to the King's next child or to a sibling of King Toma's and through their children. In other words, the current King's wife, as it stands right now, Hisui's mother, is literally ranked lower than the King's third cousin, who is a citizen of Bosco, and right now is on probation for illegal cock fighting and gambling. That person has a higher chance of becoming Ruler of Fiore than the current King's wife and it's all because of blood," Sonya explained.  
"Wow. So why wasn't Draco a King? Were there other Celestial Dragons?"  
"Draco was the only one. As he had no people to rule, aside from the other Silver Keys, he was not a King of Celestial Dragons," Sonya said.  
"Draco was the first Dragon. He created his children out of various elements and breathed the Spark of Life into them. From there, we have the Dragons we know. At least that's the legend," Gajeel added.  
"And even then, Draco isn't a Celestial Dragon King. It would put him at odds with the Celestial Spirit King. Draco is the Dragons' King. I suppose…We could think of it like the Ancient Ruins. There was the whole nation, then the individual city-states. Each city-state had their own king, but over the entire country, there were gods in charge. For the Dragons, there was only one god and that was Draco. However, he still considered himself to be without other Dragons of his elemental type, thus he was a commoner," Sonya finished. Laxus ran a hand through his hair.  
"Should I just start taking notes at this point?" Laxus asked.  
"Maybe," Sonya said with a smile as the doors opened again, this time letting Wendy in, followed by Levy and Juvia. All of them looked slightly tired, but otherwise seemed fine. "Merry Christmas!"  
"Merry Christmas everyone," Wendy said with a gentle bow.  
"How're you feeling Wendy?" Freed asked as he came over and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.  
"I'm feeling better, thank you," she said. "Sorry if I caused you any trouble, Mister Freed."  
"No, there was no trouble," the Rune Mage assured.  
"Hey Wendy, can we talk to you for a second?" Sonya asked. The little girl came over, wringing her hands together.  
"Yes?"  
"Wendy, don't worry. You're not in trouble," Sonya assured. "It's just that Laxus, Lucy, the Thunder Legion and I have been thinking and you're still fairly young but you haven't completed your education. So we were wondering if you'd be willing to let us teach you what we can."  
"Of course! I'd love to learn! Perhaps Gajeel and Miss Levy can work with us as well?"  
"Absolutely!" Sonya agreed before looking at the two. "Would you guys be willing to help us teach Wendy?"  
"Of course!" Levy cheered.  
"I'm in," Gajeel agreed, sending a smirk at the blue-haired Dragon Slayer, who smiled back.  
"So will I. If what Sonya's said about your healing abilities are true, I'd love to teach you a little about herbs if I can," Rose said as she leaned on the bar again.  
"Thank you everyone! When will we start?" she asked.  
"How about right after the new year starts, we give you a couple of assessments and see where you are learning-wise and then go from there?"  
"Sounds good. Thank you all so much," the girl said again as she bowed a few times.  
"It's our pleasure, kid," Laxus assured. "Now then, let's finish getting this place ready."  
________________________________________  
By the time the preparations were done, Alzack, Bisca and Azuka, Macao and Romeo had come and helped with the preparations. The Christmas tree was erected and decorated, the presents for the gift exchange were sorted under it, and all the tables had been set in a row and all the chairs placed around them. When Macao went to get Makarov, the old man had quickly shoved him out the door saying he needed to sleep off more of his hangover, leaving Laxus as the Master for the celebrations.  
For Laxus, that meant instead of his grandfather sitting at the head of the table, it was going to be him this year. Makarov had treated the Guild as his family and this year, he was all but making Laxus the head of the family. After all the shit that hit the fan resulting in Fantasia, this was the last thing Laxus was expecting from his grandfather. Ever. He'd had to stuff his hands into his pockets to hide the fact that they were shaking. Up until that year, he'd sat at his grandfather's right-hand side across from Yajima, who was too busy to come this year, on top of the fact that now Laxus chose who sat where by placing name cards at their plates. He would need to set those who were close to him near him at the table, so that immediately meant Lucy, Sonya, Freed, Rose, Evergreen, Lexi, and Bickslow, and maybe Gildarts. While the old mage hadn't been around too much, he was still one of the few people that Laxus could and would respect even during his more angst-filled years.  
It was about fifteen minutes until lunch was served when Erza stormed into the Guild Hall, still dressed in the red dress from the day before. Laxus almost wanted to groan.  
"She couldn't have been bothered to change? Really? It takes her all of two seconds to change outfits and I sent her home hours ago!" he thought to himself as he stood up and wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders as he placed himself between Lucy and Erza. His team, Gajeel and Wendy also stood between the redhead and himself as well. What surprised him was when Juvia and Rose placed themselves between the two S-Class Wizards. Erza's eyes narrowed at him.  
"Where is the Master?"  
"For today's celebrations, you're looking at him," Rose snapped. "My grandfather made Laxus Master in his place due to having a bad hangover. If you have a problem with that, go talk to Makarov. He's in the office." Erza's fists clenched at her sides as Laxus lead Lucy over to the table and had her sit at the plate at his left hand, with Sonya on his right.  
Next to Lucy, he placed name cards for Rose, Lexi, Evergreen, Kinana, Wendy, Mira, Laki, Bisca, Azuka, Juvia, Wakaba, Max, Reedus, Vijiteer, Nab and finally Natsu. Next to Sonya, he placed Freed, Bickslow, Gildarts, Gajeel, Levy, Lisanna, Elfman, Cana, Akzack, Romeo, Macao, Warren, Jet, Droy, Gray and finally Erza. Rai laid down at Laxus' feet as the Exceeds sat near the plates of their Dragon Slayers.  
Laxus walked to the head of the table and slowly pulled out his chair before sitting down. Everyone else sat down in their seats as well, Erza, Gray and Natsu taking a moment to stare at him incredulously. Sonya remained standing though.  
"I have something I want to say. Over the last seven years, Fairy Tail has lost a lot. And this year, just as it was about to end, we got a second chance, as did Laxus. Not only with the Guild, but also with his sister and niece, who're hoping to make their lives here with us. So I'd like to raise a toast," she said as she raised her mug. "To family. To second chances. And to new beginnings." Laxus raised his mug, an honest smile graced his face as Lucy, Rose, Lexi, the Thunder Legion, Gidarts, Gajeel and Wendy raised their mugs as well. The rest of the table did a moment later with a cheer.  
"Merry Christmas everyone!" Lucy cheered as everyone began eating. Chatter filled the air as Laxus kept a wary eye on where he'd placed Team Natsu. Erza and Natsu in particular were glaring at him. The pink-haired boy was barely even touching his food, he was so angry. After a moment, Laxus returned his attention to the people on his end of the table.  
________________________________________  
Before too long, the tables were clear of food and dishes. Sonya, Kinana, Mira, Lisanna and Levy began passing out the presents for the gift exchange. Rose and Bisca had to teasingly remind their daughters not to open any of the presents put in front of them until all the other presents were passed out.  
The minute Sonya, Kinana, Mira, Lisanna and Levy sat down again, the presents were opened. More chatter began as people began gushing over various gifts from different people.  
Laxus received a few new shirts from Rose, Sonya and Lucy, a couple of books from Freed and Evergreen, and Bickslow, ever the pervert, had gotten him condoms of all things. Laxus was quick to hide those from the ever-curious eyes of his niece. He also made sure to give the Seith Mage a discreet zapping from under the table that made him yelp and jump out of his seat for a second. Laxus would be damned before he'd let even one of his oldest friends corrupt the mental innocence of the tiny child of his sister. Aside from that, Rose would probably kill him herself if he did.  
Laxus couldn't help the pained smile that burst across his face when Lexi opened her very first chapter book and squealed loud enough to make every Dragon Slayer in the room flinch and cover their ears. Rose got a blank scrapbook, a cookbook and a la-cam, a lacrima designed to capture an image as it appeared in a moment and print it a moment later. His sister had immediately put it to work, snapping pictures of their family opening presents. Evergreen got a brand new coat and a mirror. Bickslow got wood carving tools and a painting set. Freed got several new books and had immediately begun reading them. Wendy got a beautifully carved jewelry box with a silver locket inside it. Gajeel got a new jacket from Levy, black with metal studs throughout.  
Lucy and Sonya both received a Star Lacrima from Laxus. The lacrima absorbed light through the day and at night would shine dots on the ceiling in the exact points of that night's sky. The Thunder Legion had gotten them matching star-shaped necklaces to wear, gold for Lucy, silver for Sonya. Rose and Lexi had gotten them charm bracelets. Lucy received a book on myths involving the stars from Freed and Sonya received a book on dragon myths from the Orient.  
________________________________________  
As the festivities died down and people began leaving in groups, Laxus kept an eye on Team Natsu and remained where he was. He waited until the last of the members left, leaving only himself, his team, Rose, Lexi, Lucy, Wendy, Gajeel, Kinana, the Exceeds and Team Natsu. At that point, Erza got up and began to approach him. The Thunder Legion got up and placed themselves between Laxus and Team Natsu as Sonya and Rose took Lexi and Lucy over to Erika.  
"Move out of our way," Erza snarled as the Thunder Legion blocked her way. Gray and Natsu glared from her flanks.  
"I'm afraid we cannot do that Erza," Freed said.  
"I was waiting until the festivities were done before I did anything. And now that they are, so I have something to say to the three of you." Laxus waved a hand to the now empty seats. "Have a seat."  
"We will do no such thing," Erza snapped. "I don't know what trickery you've used, Laxus! But I swear your control over the Guild ends now!"  
"Trickery?"  
"Yes! It's the only explanation for all of this! You're attempting to steal Lucy from our team! Therefore, you're isolating her from us, her family! You did something to the Master as well so he'd name you Master for today so you could further isolate her!" Laxus sighed.  
"I will say it again. Have a seat, so we can talk like civilized people. If you won't sit, then I'll have Freed erect a barrier around all of us that won't let any of us use our magic until our talks are done." Erza and her group remained standing. Laxus sighed as Freed pulled out his rapier and quickly wrote the runes. The pressure brought on by the runes made everyone within their boundary almost double over. Erza was reduced to her knee and even Laxus sagged in his seat.  
"Why you…" Erza grit out.  
"Bastard," Natsu snarled. Laxus narrowed his eyes at the group.  
"I gave you plenty of chances to sit down like civilized people. You decided to continue to act hostile. So I put all of us at a disadvantage. Because even without telling you what your punishment is going to be, I know you'll attempt to retaliate with violence." Laxus grabbed the table and used it to haul himself to his feet. His legs wobbled under the pressure, but the male stood tall before Erza and her team.  
"Punishment?!" Erza demanded.  
"Yes. For the rampant destruction this team causes on every single job they take, Team Natsu is being dissolved. And for you Erza, for abusing Lucy, and humiliating her the way you did last night, not to mention the destruction of her private property this morning, your S-Class rank is being removed." Erza pushed herself up to her feet, but the pressure still had her bending almost in half. "What?"  
"You cannot do such a thing!" she snapped.  
"Then go ask Makarov yourself," Rose snapped from outside the barrier.  
"We have done nothing! You're only proving my point!" Erza screamed, her face turning red. "You're trying to isolate her from us!"  
"Lucy! Don't worry! We're gonna get out of this like we always do!" Natsu assured the blonde. She curled further into Sonya's grasp, her hands clenching into fists.  
"You three apparently don't even understand what it means to be a family do you? A part of it is respect, which none of you have for her. It's been made fairly obvious by how you break into her home, cause damages to her private property, eat all her food, and destroy enough stuff on your jobs so that she can barely afford the roof over her head!"  
"That's a laugh coming from you, ya jerk!" Natsu roared. "Like you have any respect for any of us!"  
"You don't either!" Lucy yelled as she pulled herself away from Sonya and stood on the edge of the runes. "None of you have ever had any kind of respect for me! Not as a Fairy Tail Wizard, not as a family member, not even as a freaking human being! You break into my home, you eat all my food, you make a huge mess, and you destroy my property! It's more like I'm your mommy, not your teammate! I've lost count of the number of times I've gone hungry, nearly been kicked out of my apartment, or hell, even thought that I should've never run away from home! At least then I had the promise of food, shelter, clothing and privacy! At least Laxus has changed since Fantasia! Heck, he'd changed by the very next time I saw him after the Battle of Fairy Tail!"  
"Lucy," Erza breathed, falling back to her knees as the assembled Wizards stared at the blonde with wide eyes.  
"I'm not done! You guys know why I left my dad?! Because he wanted to decide my life for me, turn me into a doll to sit in a corner and do what he wanted when he wanted! You're basically doing the same thing! At least with my father I never had to worry about when my next meal was, if I'd have a roof over my head or clothes on my back!"  
"Lucy, we're just trying to-"  
"Zip it Fullbuster!" Lucy snapped, her face beginning to turn red as her eyes welled with tears. "You guys are just trying to make me stay as your little Lucy doll! I feed you, I wash and provide clothes so you're never arrested, I put up with Happy calling me fat when half the time I barely get enough to eat at all, and I put up with every freaking bullshit pile you three dump on me! When I try making a decision for myself, you three act like I'm being manipulated and controlled when in reality, it's you three who were manipulating and hurting me the most! And I'm done! I'm completely done! I'm done with this team! I'm done! It's over! I'm done!" Lucy's voice gave way to sobs as Sonya came up and wrapped her arms around the now wailing blonde before nailing the former team with a hard glare.  
"You heard her. If you really want to prove us wrong, respect what she's said," she said calmly despite her eyes blazing in rage.  
"Lucy! Wait!" Natsu yelled as he moved to stand up.  
"Be quiet Salamander!" Gajeel snapped, earning him a darkening glare from the pink-haired boy.  
"I won't! She needs to know!" Natsu turned back to the blonde. "Lucy, you can't go with them! You're a member of my Nest! I know you don't know what that means, but think about it. I came to you for food and to sleep with you. You're the first person I go to with jobs! We're Mates, Lucy!" Sonya glared.  
"News flash flame-brain. While the Dragon Kings ruled Dragons, the commoners had more say in how the language went. If Igneel taught you that coming into Lucy's home and eating all her food and stealing her bed is normal behavior for Mates, then he's literally got his scaly head up his ass!" she snapped. "Even Mates who didn't like each other respected each other far more than the amount you show Lucy! Laxus' claim as her Alpha Pack Mate far outranks your Alpha Nest claim."  
"I'm not the Alpha! Erza is!" Natsu yelled. "Lucy's the Omega, and Gray and I are the Beta and Gamma!"  
"The hell you talking about flame-for-brain?!" Gray snapped.  
"Basically, he's suggesting the four of you are more than just a team, you four are essentially all meant to marry each other," Sonya said, earning a dumbstruck look from Erza and Gray. "Although the commoner's way of seeing it, meaning Pack was the intimate group, Nest was family and Lounge was friends, was how Draco saw it and how it was officially stated. After all, the 1% don't speak for the whole and never should."  
"Even without this Nest/Pack mixup, what I saw last night further encourages me to disband this team. No one should ever be subjected to the kinds of abuses I saw last night being done to Lucy!" Laxus snapped.  
"Again with your lies and deception!" Erza screamed.  
"I was there too Erza, so was Shrimp!" Gajeel spoke up.  
"Yea! You threw swords at the door when someone would try to leave! You also held Miss Lucy down when she tried to get away and then you burned her with hot wax!" Wendy yelled, making the Dragon Slayers look at the usually sweet-mannered child with wide eyes.  
"Wendy?"  
"What?! Are you going to throw swords at me too?! Because that's basically what you did to anyone who defied you last night!" Wendy yelled before she flinched and rubbed at her temples. Gajeel put a hand on her shoulder.  
"I'm also willing to bet the poor kid woke up with a bad hangover this morning. Considering she's not legally old enough to be getting so drunk she passed out! On top of that, had anything happened to her Erza, as the adult who brought her there and let her drink, you'd be held responsible! The Master may be relaxed in how he deals with shit, but he wouldn't tolerate anything happening to Wendy or Shrimp on your watch!"  
"The Master also didn't tolerate seeing these!" Lucy added as she pulled up her sweater and pulled away the gauze to reveal some of the burns, then she pulled down her sweater's sleeve, revealing a bruise on her wrist in the shape of Erza's hand. Erza's eyes went wide.  
"Lucy…I understand. I am ready for you to hit me for my penance," the redhead said as she sat on her knees. Laxus snarled.  
"I already told you what your punishment will be. Team Natsu is being dissolved and you, Erza, are losing your S-Class rank. If you three can prove to me and Gramps that you deserve the privileges back, then we'll give them back. But since you three seem fairly uncaring when it comes to anyone other than yourselves, I bet it's gonna take a while," Laxus snapped as he placed a hand on Lucy's shoulder. The other blonde fixed her shirt and moved back to Sonya. "I think that's everything we wanted to say. We're done here." The hulking male wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and began leading her towards the door.  
"I won't let you take her!" Natsu yelled as he pushed himself outside of the runes, removing the pressure. He leapt towards Laxus, fists blazing. Laxus whirled around, his eyes flashing gold for a moment before he swung a punch down on the other male, sending him crashing into the floorboards, unconscious.  
"Natsu!" Gray yelled.  
"How dare you!" Erza screamed as she pushed herself up and began making her way towards the blonde. Rose stepped between her brother and Erza.  
"My brother was just defending himself and his Pack Mate. If you're so desperate for a fight, I'll give you one. Outside, now!" the scarlet-tipped blonde barked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: Oh, yes! Rose is about to throw down with Erza! So what do you guys think will happen? Will Erza win? Will Rose? Or will it be a draw? What do you guys think of Laxus' punishment of Team Natsu? Personally, I say it's been a long time coming. The amount of disrespect shown to Lucy is appalling. 
> 
> What do you guys think is in Rai's back? The poor thing :( What about where Lexi's name came from? I personally think it's adorable and sweet. As well as very touching. The overlooked grandson is noticed by a sister he never knew existed and inspires her enough to name her daughter after him. SQUEE! So cute! 
> 
> On Christmas morning, my family has cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Any of you have holiday breakfast traditions? I'd love to hear about them. 
> 
> What did you guys think of how lineage works for Dragons? Get this, this is the same type of monarchy that we know of today! Queen Elizabeth's husband is still known as a Prince, Royal Consort to Queen Elizabeth, he's not King. He can't have the title of King because it's the higher title. Higher title goes to blood. There can be Queen consorts but not Queen like for Queen Elizabeth. Yea, Miss Irena Walker Krueger of the United States of America is more likely to become the Ruler of England than Phillip, the current Queen's husband! All because the two share Christian IX of Denmark as an ancestor. Get this. Miss Krueger's mother's mother's father's father was Christian IX. For Queen Elizabeth, it's her father's father's mother's father. This makes them third cousins. Yea this is some crazy stuff. Jeez. I almost got a headache looking into all this. I wonder if anyone's ever tried writing a book solely about the modern day royal families and their lineages, showing how everyone is related. 
> 
> Ugh. This is why I should not watch anything but Fairy Tail as I write Fairy Tail fanfictions. Heck, most of the time when I'm writing Laxus' lines, I'm listening to the Fantasia arc or moments where he's speaking in the GMG or even the episode dedicated to him in particular, "Lightning Man." Seriously, we've got tons of YouTube videos about Natsu, Erza and Gray and all their great moments though the series. Can we get one for Laxus, please? But back to my point, I watch one episode of Film Theory on YouTube and UGH! I drive myself crazy! But yea, if you guys want to see a good video on YouTube, check out Film Theorists, Game Theorists, or Man at Arms. Hm. Maybe I have too much time on my hands. LOL! I swear, I'm getting all my work done, (and done well at that) I'm involved in a choir and a sorority, and yet, I apparently have enough time to watch all this stuff, and write out all this. 
> 
> Yeesh! 12,000 words for this chapter! My goodness! Please leave a kudos, bookmark, or comment if you liked this chapter, or if you have constructive criticisms to give or any ideas that might happen in the upcoming chapters. Later!


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose fights Erza.

Rose grabbed Erza by the top of her dress and began dragging her out the door. Wendy came up to Lucy and Laxus.

"Um…Miss Lucy?" The blonde looked at the small Dragon Slayer. "I can heal you now if you want."

"Thanks Wendy," Lucy said as she began lifting her shirt slightly. "But, think you can also heal Laxus' chest? Erza cut him with something this morning." Wendy nodded and Laxus unbuttoned his shirt slightly and Wendy pulled off the pieces of gauze.

"I just need a second," the tiny girl said as she focused her Magic to her hands and pressed one against Laxus' chest and one to Lucy's back. After a couple seconds, both Laxus' cut and Lucy's burns vanished.

"Thank you Wendy," Lucy said as she pulled down her shirt and Laxus re-buttoned his. Wendy smiled as Gajeel came up and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll take the pipsqueak home. Her hangover might still be hanging around some. If ya need me, get Blondie to call the Shrimp and she'll let me know," the male said before leading Wendy out the door.

"Bye! Merry Christmas!" Wendy said with a wave goodbye.

"Merry Christmas Wendy," Lucy called as the two Dragon Slayers opened the door to leave. A gust of wind rushed into the Guild, powerful enough to make the Thunder Legion brace against the gale yet they were still pushed back. Laxus held Lucy against his side as Gray and Natsu flew back, barely missing Sonya and Erika before smacking against the wall. The door slammed into Gajeel, sending the man flying back with Wendy held against him.

The door shut with a loud noise that made Laxus' ears ring for a moment before he looked around. Erika started crying, Gajeel sat up with a split lip and a bloody nose, and Lexi ran for the door.

"Lexi, get back here!" Laxus yelled as his niece slipped out the door. The blonde male rushed after her and grabbed the back of her dress before she stepped out into the snow without her coat on.

"Mommy!" Laxus looked up with wide eyes. His sister was leaning back on the fence while Erza was locked in a swordfight with a man roughly her size, dressed in a flowing purple kimono, brandishing a beautiful katana. The man had bright red hair with a pair of bright red ears at the top of his head and dark, near-black eyes. His nails were long like claws on the hilt of his sword as he blocked and parried Erza's blows. A long, fluffy red tail with a white tip flicked from side to side as he leapt about, dodging the female redhead's blades.

Rose was watching from her spot, her face expressing boredom as her eyes flicked about, watching Erza's movements.

"You two doing alright?!" Laxus asked.

"I'm bored!" Rose declared. "I was expecting a challenge from the great Titania, but apparently, Kit alone is too much for her." The man, Kit, smirked as he flipped out of Erza's direct range.

"Coward! Fight me yourself instead of using others to do your dirty work for you!" Erza screamed. Rose raised her eyebrows before she smirked.

"I was just trying to be nice," she said with a shrug. "But if you really want to fight me, I suppose I can indulge you." Rose snapped her fingers and behind her appeared a massive purple Magic Circle. Quickly, a large figure appeared from the circle. It looked like a human form curled up in a fetal position glowing purple. A hand reached out and picked up Rose and Kit before standing up itself. The purple light slowly began to fade, revealing a completely pure white human skeleton that stood at 50 m tall at the very least. Rose began chanting under her breath and both her and Kit became enveloped in purple light before melting into the creature's hand.

Musculature knit itself into existence on the skeleton's bones, followed by flesh and hair. A thin layer of red hair appeared on the skeleton's head as eyeballs materialized within the sockets. The left one was bright purple and the right one was stormy-gray-blue. The skeleton now wore a pale loincloth over its nether regions. The flesh was stretched over the bones and Laxus could almost swear he saw the outlines of the creature's organs.

"What manner of beast is this?!" Erza screamed as she leapt back and the massive creature took a tiny step forward, stepping over the fence and into the area where Erza and Rose had been fighting. As the creature passed the fence, deep purple runes made themselves known around the perimeter of the yard.

"Gashadokuro," the creature said slowly. It sounded like Rose's voice mixed with one of a teenage male and one extremely deep voice that fit a creature of this size. "You wanted to fight me, so I merged with my strongest."

 

"Lexi!" Laxus yelled as he raced out the door after his niece. Lucy looked around. The gale had knocked over the tables, chairs and had sent Natsu and Gray flying into the wall. Erika was crying loudly from the sound of the door slamming open and closed. Kinana brushed a hand over her hair as she rushed over with a cloth for Gajeel as the male stood up and dusted himself off, blood dripping down his face and onto the floor. Wendy was healing his lip and nose, apologizing profusely to the male.

"Miss Lucy, are you alright?" Freed asked as he came over, his hair tie missing from the long green tresses.

"Yea I'm fine," Lucy said.

"What's with all the racket?" The group turned around to see Makarov making his way down the stairs.

"Master!" Natsu cheered.

"Just in time," Gray sighed as Makarov looked around.

"What happened here?" he asked, looking at the Thunder Legion. Freed explained what had occurred as Gajeel and Wendy left and Lucy moved over to Sonya as she calmed Erika in her carrier. The blonde picked up Lexi's pretty bright red coat off the floor and headed for the door as Freed finished telling of Rose's challenge to Erza. "Lucy, where are you going?"

"Erza and Rose are fighting outside. Lexi ran after them when the door got blasted open and Laxus went after her but she didn't have her coat," Lucy said quickly before she rushed out of the Guild doors, Lexi's coat in hand and hurried over to the blonde male. She froze in her tracks upon laying eyes on the massive creature. The Thunder Legion followed after her.

"Holy cow!" Bickslow yelled, his eyes glowing as he looked over the creature. "That's freaky!"

"What is?" Sonya asked.

"I don't know if I can explain it! It's like…Jeez I can't make heads or tails of this shit!" he yelled. Sonya giggled.

"What's going on here?" Laxus asked.

"Mommy mixed with Kit and Shiro," Lexi explained as her uncle helped her get her coat on.

"Basically, Rose can combine herself with her monsters for a short period of time but she can only do this with two at a time. So for here, she combined with her Spirits, Kit the Kitsune and Shiro the Gashadokuro, in order to use both Kit's magical abilities, Shiro's strength and Rose herself is acting as the controlling factor, as if it's her own body being used. Think of it like a drink. You take the three separate drinks and pour them all together, but in this case, you can separate them just as easily," Sonya said as the combined monster curled up again on the ground and swatted at Erza like she was a fly.

The redhead swung her swords, the flesh giving way to allow streams of nearly black blood run down the hand and drip onto the snow. The hand moved again and this time came down on Erza as if to squash her.

Erza screamed as the hand slammed down on her, sending her down into the earth like a stone in a lake. Further and further she fell until the hole her body had created was naught more than a tiny speck of light in an abyss of blackness. She stretched her wings and tried to control her descent, to no avail. She couldn't feel the winds moving against the appendages while she could feel it in her hair and clothes.

Off to the side, a large, glowing crack appeared in the darkness and clawed hands pushed the crack apart, revealing a human-like body attached to hundreds of arms and legs and dozens of heads. Behind that creature were dozens more. They clawed at each other, bit at throats, roared at her, screamed, and howled. Wings flapped, claws scratched, tails whipped side to side and a giant hand reached out towards her. Faces appeared on the fingertips, and the palm split open revealing a mouth with lines upon lines of yellowing, rotting serrated teeth with bits and pieces of meat and cloth stuck in them.

Erza screamed as the fingers grew arms and began grabbing at her, pulling her towards the mouth. She cried out in terror as the teeth began clicking together at the edges of her shoes and something warm began making its way down her leg.

Suddenly, her vision seemingly cracked, like a broken plate on the floor. And the pieces fell apart, revealing the blue sky above her again. The snow was cold under Erza's back but something warm was spreading around her bottom.

"Ew! The yucky lady had an accident!" Lexi yelled. Erza looked down and sure enough, there was a spot of yellow snow where her legs came together.

 

The hand smacked down into the snow, the fingers spread around Erza. The redhead fell back into the snow and stared blankly at the sky. The creature glowed purple again and in a flash of light, the skeleton was bare bones again, and Kit and Rose stood at its feet.

"Thanks you guys," she said. Kit and Shiro nodded before a Magic Circle appeared under them and they sunk into it. Erza started thrashing about in the snow, screaming and yelling bloody murder as Rose began walking away. She went up to the fence and waved a hand dismissively, the runes of her barrier appearing and vanishing. The disturbed snow of the yard flew back into place in a white flurry as Rose vaulted herself over the fence and made her way to her giddy daughter.

"Mommy that was so cool!" Lexi cheered as Gray and Natsu made their way out of the Guild. They looked at Erza as she screamed again before she was silent, yellow beginning to stain the snow at the conjecture of her legs. "Ew! The yucky lady had an accident!"

"Erza!" Natsu yelled. The pink-haired male turned towards the Thunder Legion with a snarl. Sonya handed Erika's carrier to Lucy and snarled at the male while Freed and Bickslow stood in front of her.

"How dare you!" Erza screeched as she summoned at least a dozen swords and flung them at Rose, and by consequence, Laxus, Lexi, Lucy and Erika.

Sonya leapt back to her Pack and wrapped her arms around Lucy, placing herself between the blonde and the quickly-approaching swords. Lexi screamed and hid her face in her mother's neck as Rose snapped her fingers again. Kit appeared beside her and flung himself into the air, drawing his sword as he neared Erza's barrage. Laxus grabbed his sister, Lucy and Sonya, pulling them all together into a huddle that he flung his coat over before turning back to Erza's barrage.

"Uncle Laxus!" Lexi screamed as he held up a hand and summoned his Magic as more and more swords appeared, slipping past Kit. Lightning bolts shot out towards the swords, knocking some out of the air but a few slipped through.

"Laxus get down!" Freed yelled as he drew his sword. Laxus turned and covered his family with his own body, bracing for the swords to hit his back. A large shadow fell over the group and Laxus looked back to see the inside of a giant human hand protecting them. His eyes followed the appendage to his diminutive grand sire standing by the Guild doors, his face beginning to turn red in fury.

"Laxus!" Evergreen cried as she rushed forward and threw her arms around her leader.

"You alright?!" Bickslow added as the blonde slowly stood up, panting as his hands shook.

"I'm fine," he said as his body alternated between feeling too hot and too cold for a second or two and the hand shrunk down to normal as Makarov neared. The swords fell out of their places in his hand and onto the snow, blood on the tips. The elder male didn't sigh, he didn't growl, he didn't say a word as his face reddened.

For a moment, everything was silent. No one dared speak as the children assembled cried and the Master of Fairy Tail looked over everything, from the girls under Laxus' coat to Gray and Erza coming towards him, to Natsu who was still snarling at Freed and Bickslow.

"Master, I-"

"SILENCE!" the old man roared. Erza, Gray and Natsu flinched as the Thunder Legion took a step back. Rose stood up, the coat falling from her to further cover Lucy, Sonya and a crying Erika. Lexi continued to cry against her mother as the woman ran a hand over the child's ponytail. "From what I understand, Rose and Erza were fighting. What happened, Rose?"

"She insisted I use my own power over using my monsters. So I did. And now she's pissed that she lost to an illusion," Rose said simply before kissing her daughter's temple.

"Master I-" The old man locked eyes with the redhead, cutting her off. Never before had Erza ever seen his eyes look so much like those of his grandson.

"Erza, what did you think you were doing?" he ground out.

"I was defending the Guild Master," she said quickly. "Laxus is behaving as if you've already died and passed the mantle of Master on to him. He had the gall to sit at the head of the table today and keep Lucy away from us, her best friends. I know what he's said to Mirajane and Cana about wanting Lucy as his woman. He's been doing nothing but separate her from us since we got back from Tenrou Island. And now he's somehow managed to get Gajeel and Wendy on his side, as well as this woman who claims to be his sister! He attempted to dissolve our team and remove my S-Class rank, all while claiming to be the Master." Makarov sighed. "I am only trying to protect those I care for."

"Bull-fucking-shit!" Rose snapped as she handed Lexi to Sonya as the caramel-haired Wizard tried to calm a crying Erika. The scarlet-tipped blonde stormed forward, eyes flashing dangerously as her teeth bared themselves. Laxus wrapped an arm around his sister's waist, although that did little to quell her rage. Laxus was actually surprised when his sister continued to move as if unhindered for a step or two before he yanked her back, making her feet fly into the air, spraying snow at Erza. "Listen here you fucking bitch! If you ever come near my daughter with those fucking swords again, I swear I'll grab them all and ram them up your fucking ass!"

"Okay! Time to walk away," Laxus said as he turned his sister around and pushed her towards her daughter. The scarlet-tipped blonde whirled around, pinning her blazing eyes on her brother.

"Don't you dare act like you're not pissed as hell! That-"

"Rose!" he barked, lightning flickering around his form. His sister's fists clenched at her sides until her arms shook as her teeth bared themselves. "Believe me, I am pissed. But fighting isn't going to change what just happened. Hell, I'd say it would make it worse. I honestly think you're both in the wrong. For one, Rose, you didn't need to go so far with your illusion that she'd piss herself. And for two, Erza, I understand getting angry at me and Rose, but you put Lucy, Lexi and Erika in danger without cause."

"Don't you dare start preaching to me, Laxus!" the Requip Mage barked. Laxus whirled on her, his eyes flashing from gray to gold as lightning flew off his arms.

"I wasn't planning to," he ground out through clenched teeth. "Rose, take Lexi and head home. Freed, Ever, Bicks, go with her. Lucy, Sonya, I can't tell you two what to do, but I'd appreciate it if you went with them," Laxus said to his family.

"Of course," Sonya said as she stood up with Erika's carrier in hand before she handed the man's coat back. "Question, what made you think that a coat would be a good shield against swords?"

"The fact it's made from treated Wyvern scales," Laxus said as he draped his coat over his shoulders.

"So that's how that thing has survived everything," Lucy muttered before the group headed off, leaving Makarov, Laxus and Rai with Erza and Natsu.

"Grandfather, when you and Laxus are done, I'd be happy to have you over for dinner," Rose called over her shoulder.

"Bye-bye!" Lexi called as she waved to her uncle and great-grandfather. Laxus waited for his family to leave the grounds before turning back to Erza and his grandfather.

"Now then, Erza, I'm highly disappointed in you," Makarov said. "You've shown a great amount of disrespect to our Fourth Master."

"Laxus is not our Master! You are!" Erza yelled, earning her a stern look from the old man.

"By the order of the Magic Council, he is. And considering how much he's changed, I'm considering leaving him in the position."

"Master-"

"The Laxus that fought in Fantasia would never bother himself with people like Erika and Lexi, would he my boy?" Makarov asked his grandson. Laxus sighed and clenched his jaw.

"No, he wouldn't." The old man nodded.

"Now then, I do believe enough damage has been done today. Go home Erza, Natsu. Laxus, you removed her S-Class rank and dissolved their team. So you'll need to head to the office." Laxus nodded and headed inside to start the paperwork. "Be sure to check the law and make sure nothing has changed in the last seven years!"

"I know old man!" Laxus called as he headed up the stairs, Rai following at his heels. The blonde sighed a little as he sat in the chair behind the desk. Rai let out a little noise of concern and moved his head under Laxus' head, earning him a couple pets. "That's the second time Lexi was put in danger right in front of me." Rai let out another little noise. "Trying to cheer me up boy? Or offer some sagely lion council? That might be a little easier if you could talk." Rai let out another little noise before he walked away and laid down. Laxus pulled out the law book and began looking through it for the procedures of removing S-Class rank.

He found the page and started reading when a light smacking sound registered in his ears. He looked up to see Rai twisting his body around to lick at his back. Laxus shook his head and returned to his work. A couple minutes later, the sounds became a light clicking and the coppery smell of blood registered.

Laxus got up and went over to Rai and pushed the lion's head away from his back. There was blood on the side of Rai's face and a couple of the cuts on his back were open again.

"What're you doing?" he asked. Rai let out a little noise and swiped his paw at his back, near the edge of his mane. Laxus sighed and petted the top of the lion's head. "Leave it be boy, I'll call the zoo and see if we can come in tomorrow instead of next week. In the meantime, don't bite or scratch at it." Rai let out a little noise as Laxus went back over to the desk and called the zoo again.

 

Rose sighed as she plopped herself down onto the couch. Sonya sat next to her and handed her a mug of tea.

"Thanks," the scarlet-tipped blonde said before she took a sip.

"No problem. You feeling any better?" Rose shrugged and nestled her head on Sonya's shoulder.

"Twice now my daughter has been put in harm's way, once in my very arms."

"I know. I know. You and I are a lot alike, Rosie," the caramel-haired Wizard said, carding her fingers through the bi-colored tresses of her friend. "We can't stand feeling helpless. But…we're not. It's just that…some people are so caught up in themselves that they don't see how they're hurting others." Rose set her mug on the coffee table and hugged Sonya tightly.

"Sorry, I just don't wanna talk about this right now." Sonya smiled and hugged Rose back.

"Okay then. So how about you choose what we do talk about?" the Celestial Wizard asked. Rose chuckled as she sat up and smirked at her friend.

"So, you and Lucy get my big brother, hm?" Sonya giggled.

"How did I know you were going to bring that up?"

"Seriously though, how do you feel about it?" Rose asked. Sonya shrugged.

"Right now, I kinda feel a little cheated honestly. I mean, I knew he was a Dragon Slayer and had an Alpha personality, so there was a chance of being in his Pack. But the Pack is supposed to find each other, spend time together, come to the realization on their own. Now that experience has been taken from us," Sonya said solemnly.

"Maybe. Or maybe this is helping you guys out more than you think. I know my brother. He's shy and awkward and does not do well in environments he doesn't know well. In things like fighting, leading and surviving, he excels because he knows what he needs to do at that point, he's been through the motions with it. However, in things like romance, relationships with other people and stuff like that, I'm afraid my big brother is hopeless. A relationship with him could take years and years to develop. Not to mention, there's three of you right now and he'd be conflicted between his feelings for you and his feelings for Lucy," Rose said gently. Sonya chuckled.

"Not to mention Lucy would probably be uncomfortable. She grew up thinking she'd get married to one man, have some kids and go through it all in a normal fashion. Our relationship is far from normal, and it likely never will be normal. And growing up as I did, I knew that would be the case."

"True," Rose said with a shrug. "And I'm hearing a very silent 'but'?" Sonya smiled.

"In all honesty I'm glad it's working out like this. Two Wizards I've read about, heard about and looked up to while I was growing up reappear without having aged a day, they're members of my Pack, and they have strong beliefs."

"And the fact they're knockouts doesn't hurt either, right?" Sonya rolled her eyes.

"You know I don't care about how someone looks," she said with a shake of the head. "But yes, it is nice that they're good-looking too." Rose and Sonya giggled as the front door opened and Laxus made his way in with Rai, the lion's head wrapped in a large cone. The two girls stopped laughing and stared at the lion as he laid down and pawed at the edge of the cone. "What in the world?"

"He started biting at his back earlier," Laxus explained as he shut the door, hung up his coat and slipped out of his shoes. The girls nodded.

"Poor darling," Rose said as she neared the beast and petted his head.

"Where'd you get the cone?" Sonya asked as Laxus sat down next to her.

"Kinana helped me make it with directions from the zoo's vet. Apparently one of their wolves is pregnant and she wanted to check on the pups and mother today so we got a lucky break. Rai'll be heading into the clinic tomorrow to get his back checked out. I think it might be that bump Rose found this morning."

"That would make sense," Sonya said with a shrug. "Did you see your grandfather on the way back?"

"No," the blonde male replied. "Where're the others?"

"Freed and Evergreen headed home," Rose spoke up. "Bickslow and Lucy are with Lexi playing. I'm gonna go take a shower. You two have fun." With that, the scarlet-tipped blonde turned on her heel and headed into the bathroom. Sonya sighed and shook her head.

"So, wanna explain what took you so long? You missed dinner."

"Aside from calling the vet and making the cone, I had to do paperwork to back up Erza's punishment," Laxus said as he leaned back on the couch. Sonya watched him for a second.

"You know…that doesn't look very comfortable."

"I'm fine," he insisted. "If I lay down and try to relax, I know I'm gonna fall asleep."

"If you do, I'll wake you up when Rose decides to go to bed," Sonya said as she grabbed a book from one of the shelves and patted her lap. "Come on, you can rest your head here. It's comfier than the couch arm at least." Laxus sighed and shifted on the couch until his head laid in Sonya's lap. The caramel-haired girl opened the book and started reading.

"So what were you and my sister talking about?" he asked as he closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of mountain air and pine.

"Just girl stuff."

"What stuff?" Sonya giggled.

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because my sister and a woman who's the draconic equivalent to one of my fiancés seemed to have been conspiring together, that's why."

"Well, we were talking about that actually: the relationship between you, Lucy and myself."

"How do you feel about that?" Laxus asked as he opened his eyes. Sonya shrugged.

"I feel fine. I grew up with this idea in mind. You and Lucy were two Wizards I'd heard a lot about, read a lot about through the paperwork and looked up to for years. Aside from that, I'm bisexual so I have no qualms." Laxus blinked.

"Seriously?"

"Yea. I mean, Papa said that people who are bisexual or homosexual have a special connection to nature and the Great Spirit. So I honestly never cared about stuff like gender and looks. What matters to me is respect, kindness and openness mentally. So I'm fine if we don't believe in the same things or were raised in different cultures, so long as you guys are willing to listen to me when I speak, vice versa, show compassion and respect, I think it'll work out fine." Laxus nodded.

"Interesting way of seeing things," he muttered. Sonya shrugged.

"I get that sometimes."

"Get what sometimes?" The two looked up to see Lucy coming out of Lexi's room wearing a pink boa around her neck and a plastic gold tiara on her head.

"That the way I think of things is strange," Sonya said with a shrug. "Playing Princess?"

"Tea party," Lucy corrected as she looked at Rai. 'What's up with him?"

"He started biting at his back today. We're headed to the vet tomorrow," Laxus answered. Lucy nodded.

"So what lead to the idea that Sonya's way of thinking is weird?" Lucy asked as she sat down in the chair.

"Laxus asked how I feel about our situation. I'm fine with it. And I mentioned I was bisexual," Sonya answered with a shrug. Lucy stiffened.

"Wait. Is that why you were so insistent on sleeping on your couch the night I stayed with you and Kinana?" the blonde female asked.

"Partially. And partially because I figured you were used to having a bed to yourself until you mentioned Natsu would sneak into your bed," the caramel-haired Wizard said. Lucy's face turned slightly red in embarrassment as she slouched in her seat.

"Sorry. I guess I put you in an uncomfortable situation, huh?"

"Nah. Usually I was too tired to be turned on and the other times you were hurting and it wasn't appropriate," Sonya said.

"And you don't need to apologize for every little thing, Lucy," Laxus added. Sonya slowly closed her book and placed it on the coffee table.

"Sonya?" Lucy asked as the caramel-haired Wizard looked over at her.

"Lucy, be honest. How do you feel about our situation?" Lucy bit her lip and looked down at her lap as she began fiddling with the hem of her skirt.

"Well…It's….It's weird." Sonya nodded, having expected that answer. "I mean…I get it's a part of Dragon culture…But I wasn't raised in that. I was raised believing that people in our situation were in the wrong. That it was one man to one woman and that's how it was meant to be."

"Understandable, considering how things work in the upper-class," Laxus muttered. "But you ran away from that lifestyle, right?"

"Yea. Doesn't mean I can just make a new life for myself at the drop of a hat, change everything I've ever known," Lucy said.

"And we're not asking you to," Sonya said, shooting a hard look at the male in her lap. "The only thing that I personally ask is that you keep an open mind about it, okay?" Lucy nodded. "And hey, if it's not for you, that's fine too. It's who you are. Things will work out the way they're supposed to, so don't worry about it."

"Okay. Thanks," Lucy said with a slight nod.

"So here's an idea. For right now, so we can see if we're all comfortable with each other, let's try spending some more time together. For example, let's all go to Rai's appointment tomorrow, and then we can come back here to get Lucy's apartment cleaned up."

"You guys really don't need to help with that. I can barely stand it when my spirits clean up after Natsu, Erza and Gray, so it's nothing personal," Lucy insisted.

"Well, we want to help you," Laxus said. "Just because they made the mess, doesn't mean you have to clean up after them. Aside from that, it's a huge mess. It'll probably take a couple days with only you handling it." Lucy's shoulders sagged.

"I suppose," she sighed. Sonya moved over and wrapped an arm around Lucy gently.

"Lucy, if Laxus and I have any say, this will be the last time you clean up after those nimrods. And we want to help you fix it up, okay?"

"Alright," the blonde female said. "In that case, do you guys need help with anything? Like something in the Guild? Because I'll help you guys as a way of thanking you for helping with my apartment. It'll make me feel better about it." Sonya smirked.

"Actually, Laxus and I need to get the paperwork fixed up. The records book arrived a while ago so we should be able to get started after we get your apartment cleaned up," she said before going back to her original spot and reopening her book.

The room fell into silence for a moment before Bickslow came out of Lexi's room, carrying the seven-year-old on his shoulders while wearing a purple boa around his neck and having his face covered in hot pink blush, blue eyeshadow and bright red lipstick on his lips. His babies were flying around, carrying a pink plastic tea set around and Lexi laughed her head off on the Seith Wizard's shoulders. Laxus bit down on the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at the sight of his old friend covered in kiddie makeup as Lucy stared wide-eyed and Sonya used her book to cover her smile as she held back laughter.

Rose came out of the bathroom, wrapping her hair up in a towel with an old, oversized t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants covering her body and a wet washcloth in hand as she went over to Rai and began gently going over the cuts with the cloth. She looked at Bickslow and Lexi and giggled before returning to her self-assigned task of cleaning Rai's wounds.

"Don't you worry buddy. You'll be feeling better soon," the young mother said as she scratched Rai under his chin. The massive feline laid down on the floor contentedly as Laxus laid back down on Sonya's lap. He had to admit, her lap was definitely more comfortable than the couch's arm or back. Maybe it was the fact of her muscles being thicker than the thin cover on the wood of the couch's frame. Either way, he couldn't find it within himself to dislike the fact that he preferred the other Dragon Slayer's lap.

 

Rai let out another little noise of discomfort as he laid the edge of his cone on Laxus' shoes as they waited for the vet to arrive. Lucy and Sonya stood next to him, the caramel-haired Wizard keeping her nose buried in a book on lions and other big cats.

"Oh wow. That's scary," she commented.

"What is?" the male asked. Sonya chuckled.

"Apparently, male lion's have spines on their penises to stimulate female ovulation during mating," she reported, pointing at the section she'd been reading. Laxus read it once, twice, shook his head and read it one more time before looking at the lion at his feet.

"Gross dude," he said. Rai let out a grumble, as if to argue.

"He can't help it," Sonya defended as she showed the line to Lucy.

"Geez!" the blonde said with a cringe before eyeing Laxus suspiciously.

"What?" Sonya looked between the two and burst into laughter.

"Oh my gosh! She's wondering if you developed anything from the dragon lacrima like that!" the caramel-haired Wizard managed between gasps and giggles. Laxus' eyes widened in shock for a moment as Lucy's face went red and she looked away. Laxus schooled his own expression, although he could already feel the tips of his ears turning pink.

"I'm sorry for being late!" The trio turned to see a rather diminutive woman, probably standing only a meter and a half at most, with mouse-brown hair pulled into a messy ponytail, thick glasses perched on the tip of her nose that magnified her brown eyes, running towards them. "My apologies for being late, I slept in this morning," she panted as she hurried past them and opened the door to the clinic. Rai stood up and immediately went inside. "So I take it that's Rai, so you must be Laxus Dreyar. You're taller than I thought you'd be," she said as she ushered them inside. "I'm Dr. Cynthia Clyde, but please, just call me Cindy." SOnya extended her hand to the vet with a smile.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Sonya Vern. Thanks for doing this on such short notice."

"Not a problem at all," Cindy said cheerfully as she shook Lucy's hand as well before heading over to a metal table. Rai immediately hopped onto the top of it. The doctor had to grab a stepstool in order to properly look over the massive feline. She checked his eyes and teeth and paws without much fuss, although Rai did snarl at her when she lifted his tail to check his backside. "Can you tell me what might have caused any irritation?" she asked as she removed the cone and Rai shook his head.

"Yesterday morning, my sister noticed a bump between his shoulder blades. I checked it out myself and I don't think it's bone. It can be moved around and it doesn't move back," Laxus explained. Cindy nodded and began looking through Rai's mane as Laxus pet the feline's face, keeping him distracted from the doctor's motions.

"And has he been eating?"

"Yes ma'am," Sonya answered. "Stool and pee look good and clean when we let him outside to do his business." The doctor nodded and began poking at a cut on Rai's back.

"I see. How did you find him?"

"He had a scorpion's tail roughly my size attached to him," Laxus said. "It's where most of those marks on his rear likely came from. We also think most of these scratches were caused by that thing trying to force him to do what it wanted. After it was detached it almost attacked me."

"I see. That likely explains why he's so thin. A proper diet should take care of that though. I'll get a prescription for some antibiotics and vitamins you can add in to help the process speed up. Also, did any of you notice this before?" The doctor parted some of Rai's mane, revealing a cut sewn shut with thick black string.

"No I didn't," Laxus said as he looked it over. Cindy nodded again as she poked around the shoulder-blade area again, pushing the bump towards the stitches until Laxus caught sight of something reflecting the light through the sutures. Cindy clicked her tongue.

"Looks to me that someone put a lacrima in the poor boy. Just a moment." Cindy hurried over to a cupboard and came back over with a syringe. "Just gotta numb the spot and we can get that out of him, stitch him up and you all can be on your way."

Rai let out a little snarl as Cindy pushed the syringe's needle into his skin but after that, he barely made a noise as Cindy removed a lacrima from the cut before stitching it back up.

"Thanks so much for that." Everyone stiffened at the sound of a deep voice that had not come from Laxus' mouth. "Honestly, it was driving me crazy that no one understood what I was saying."

"No way…" Sonya breathed as she looked at the lion before he vanished in a puff of smoke. Once the vapor cleared, Laxus blinked once, twice, three times before he shook his head and looked at the creature in his hands. The tiny cat was probably the same size as Pantherlily, Happy and Carla, with tawny-gold fur and a slightly darker mane and bright golden eyes.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Raionjin, but I prefer to be called Rai," the feline said.

"No way!" Lucy cried. "Rai's an Exceed!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie:...LOL! I love Rose's Magic! So cool how she scared Erza! LOL! So yea, Ivan's daughter uses Illusion Magic and Summoner Magic. Makes sense to me. Rai's an Exceed! YAY! I've been waiting to reveal that! LOL! Call it cliche, but Sonya has Summer and Laxus needed an animal companion. Rai fit the description. 
> 
> Well, see you guys next time! Leave a review if you liked or if you have constructive criticism.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy's apartment is cleaned.

"So…someone gonna explain this to me?" Rose asked as she placed a stack of pancakes in front of her daughter and looked over at Rai, in his smaller form, licking at a plate that had been full of ground beef but was now bare. Laxus, Sonya and Lucy were seated around the counter, also eating at a few pancakes each. Rai licked at his lips as he looked up at the scarlet-tipped blonde.

"It's quite simple, my lady. I am of the same race as the other cats of Fairy Tail; Pantherlily, Happy and Carla. I was hatched back in our home of Extalia, in another dimension known as Edolas. In Edolas, Magic was a finite resource, much like your dimension's coal and oil, save for the Magic contained within us Exceeds. Several years ago, the Exceeds were moved to this dimension where Magic is everywhere. But earlier this year, the one you call Jose Porla captured me and implanted that lacrima within my body to keep me in my battle form and render me mute. I was trying to find a way of telling you that without speech and the like but I had to resort to biting yesterday I'm afraid," the Exceed said.

"So, why do you walk around like an ordinary cat instead of on two legs like the other Exceeds?" Lucy asked.

"My family traces our lines back to the greater Extalian beasts that walked on all fours. While many of our brethren took to walking on two legs, my family remained true to our more ancient traditions. I suppose you could think of it as an evolutionary aspect of Exceeds. Some of us developed hips designed to assist in standing upright, while others of us, a minority, did not. I have the capability of standing on two legs, however, at this point it would be fairly uncomfortable and my muscles are not used to such a strain. But this does allow me a few advantages over my brethren, such as greater running speed and more powerful shoulders," the feline explained.

"I see. So can you fly like the other Exceeds?" Sonya asked. Rai nodded.

"However, since I was in my battle form for such a long time, I am afraid I cannot for a while. Being in that form requires a great amount of concentration and magic power, as do my Aera wings. In all honesty, had I not been taken to that doctor this morning, it's quite likely that form would've become permanent, which would drastically reduce the span of my life. So I would like to thank you all for saving my life. I will do all within my power to repay my debt of gratitude." Sonya reached over and petted the feline's head.

"You don't owe us anything," Laxus said. "If anything, we owe you an apology for not taking you to the vet sooner." Rai sat down on the counter, his gold eyes narrowing as his tail flicked from side to side.

"Still, the fact remains that I owe you all my life and I will do what I can to repay that debt," he said with a tone of finality.

"Do whatever you want. I can't control you. But if you stick with me, that means you live by a set of rules, got it?" Laxus said as he speared another bite of pancakes with his fork.

"I understand. Thank you. I will strive to ensure you don't regret it," Rai said, bowing gracefully.

"So does this mean Rai is joining our family too?" Lexi asked as she dug into her breakfast.

"Looks like it hun," Rose said as she sipped at a mug of tea.

"That reminds me. Does this mean I get to call Miss Sonya and Miss Lucy 'Auntie' now?" Laxus almost choked on the bite he'd taken. Lucy froze in her movements of cutting her pancakes and glanced at Sonya who smiled at the child.

"Well hun, we haven't gone through the rights of marriage yet. In Dragon terms, it's called a Covenant Veil," Sonya said.

"What's that?" Lucy asked.

"It's a bonding between our souls. It's kinda like finding your soul mate and cementing that relationship. It allows for sharing of Magic, as well as a boost to the link itself. For example, if Laxus were to be on a job and using Magic, he could summon our Spirits without the Keys. And as he uses Magic Power, we can kinda act as backup batteries. Our bodies naturally draw in Eathernano, which creates our Magic Power. As Laxus uses his Magic, we'd be refilling his Magic Power and absorbing Eathernano for him," the caramel-haired Wizard explained before turning back to Lexi. "So until we pass through the Covenant Veil, Lucy and I aren't your Aunties, okay?"

"Okay," Lexi said as she took another bite. "Mommy? Can I help with cleaning today?"

"You need to ask Miss Lucy," Rose said. "Lucy?"

"Um well…how about after we get the dangerous stuff cleaned up? I'd hate it if she tripped on something and got cut up on all that," Lucy said. Rose looked at her daughter.

"Is that okay sweetie?"

"I guess," the child replied. Lucy bit her bottom lip before a smile crossed her features.

"Oh that's right!" she said, clapping her hands together, gaining the little redhead's attention. "I just remembered that I need some pictures to decorate my room with. Lexi, do you think you could do that for me down here while we clean up the glass?" Lexi's face brightened.

"Yea! I'm a great draw-er. What do you want?"

"Whatever you come up with," Lucy said, rubbing the top of Lexi's head as the girl giggled. Rose smiled before giving her brother a thumbs up. The blonde rolled his eyes as he took the last bite of his breakfast.

A knock on the door turned the adults' attentions to the entering Thunder Legion.

"Good morning," Freed greeted.

"How's it going?" Bickslow called as he came over and gave Lexi a little tickle. The child giggled as the Seith Wizard picked her up, sat on the stool and then set her on his knee.

"Just in time," Rose said as she finished her tea. "Lucy just asked Lexi to take care of drawing some pictures to decorate her apartment with while we clean up. Bickslow, think you could keep an eye on her?"

"Sure thing. Just leave it to me," the blue-and-black-haired male said, tongue flopping out. Rose giggled.

"Can I get you a cup of tea? Or water or something?" she asked.

"Nah. I'm good, thanks though. Although I do got a couple of questions for ya."

"Yes?" Laxus watched the interaction for a moment before he cleared and cleaned his plate, still watching the interaction between his old friend and his little sister as the Seith Wizard asked some questions about Kit and Shiro and Rose's Magic. Some of Rose's answered were accented with giggles that Laxus could only associate with girls in his past who'd attempted flirting with him. And judging by the way Bickslow was responding, he knew it and liked it.

Laxus felt his arm begin to tense.

"Excuse me," Sonya said, suddenly appearing by his side with her plate.

"Sorry," he said as he moved out of the way.

"Also, stop staring at them," Sonya whispered as Lucy hopped off her stool and brought the dish over to wash. Sonya took it from her and smiled. "How about you and Laxus head upstairs and get started, Lucy?"

"Alright. See you in a bit," Lucy said as she headed out the door. Laxus followed after her, keeping Bickslow and Rose in the corner of his eye until he left the apartment.

"Rose is a full-grown adult and can make her own choices," Lucy said pointedly as the two headed up the stairs.

"Pardon me, my brain is still telling me that last time I saw Rose before Tenrou was a couple weeks ago, and she was sixteen at that time. Now she's basically my age."

"I get it," Lucy said as she unlocked her apartment door. "But still, have a little faith in your sister. After yesterday, I'd say she can handle herself."

"Believe me, I know she can. But she's my little sister. And by the time I found out she even existed she'd already gotten pregnant and given birth, again at sixteen. Can you blame me for worrying a little?" he asked as Lucy led him into the ruined apartment.

"Do you honestly think so little of Bickslow?" she asked as he shut the door behind him.

"Honestly, a little bit. I trust him with my life, but not my sister's. He knew what she was doing with that flirty giggle and I know Bickslow. He liked it when she was being flirty with him!"

"You know, the way you're going on about this, you sound like a jealous boyfriend!" the blonde female snapped.

"And you sound like a jealous girlfriend, Blondie!" Laxus retorted.

"Watch it Ozone Breath!"

"You two are so cute." The two blondes snapped around to see Sonya leaning against the door with a grin on her face and work gloves and a box of trash bags in her hands.

"When did you get there?" Lucy asked.

"Roughly around the jealous boyfriend comment," the caramel-haired Celestial Wizard said as she handed out the gloves to her Mates. Lucy quickly headed to the bathroom with a mop and drew the curtain before she started working.

"What's with her?" Laxus asked quietly as he began setting the bedframe right.

"It's the Mate thing," Sonya whispered as she swept the broken glass out from under the bedframe. "She feels insecure at this point in the relationship. Remember, while you seem fairly accepting of this, and I grew up knowing this would be my fate, Lucy did not. She's trying to juggle the reality of all this, as well as deal with the emotions of losing her father. Never mind the confusion the two of you are going through considering the seven-year skip you guys are experiencing."

"So what, she's jealous of the fact I pay attention to my sister?" Sonya closed her eyes for a moment and hummed thoughtfully.

"No, she's just a little jealous of how easily it seems that your sister and Bickslow are getting along."

"How do you know that?" Laxus asked.

"Check the link," Sonya deadpanned.

"How do I do that?"

"Focus on it. It's already in your head, so just close your eyes for a second and try to find that point where you end and Lucy starts."

"What?" Laxus asked. Sonya sighed and rubbed her temples as she neared him.

"Okay. Sit down on the bed," she said, pushing him back so the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed. Laxus sighed and did as told. "Now close your eyes and clear your mind, like you're meditating." The blonde male did as told. "Now, you're aware of what your Magic feels like, what you feel like, your energy. Take a moment to find the spot where there's something different."

"Alright," Laxus ground out as he took a deep breath and began feeling through the Magic inside him. As he continued his slow breathing, the electric tingle flowed through his legs and arms, into his body, up his neck and into his head. But as he went through his head, a sort of force seemed to block off two small portions, although one was larger than the other. He focused his Magic on that larger spot and was surprised when he found the power forced back, almost like two magnets forcing each other apart.

"Don't force it. Relax into it." Sonya's voice registered in his head. He relaxed a little more and gently reached towards the spot. Suddenly, Laxus' stomach leapt into his throat as if he were falling a great distance, the spot seemingly sucking him out of his body and into…something else.

Red-hot rage poured over him, but something was different about this rage than any he'd felt in the past. There were tinges of blue, cold sadness, bitter green jealousy, and…sweet white hope? Laxus tried to pull back, trying to find where he'd come from but was unable to find anything that felt like himself or like the spot he'd discovered. Bolts of panic shot through him like his Magic, but unlike his Magic, the bolts left a cold, breathless feeling inside him that made his hands shake and filled his mouth with a barely recognizable, bitter-sour flavor. Suddenly, Laxus felt his stomach jump into his throat again as he felt himself begin to fall. The emotions, the colors and tastes left him almost instantly, letting him drop into black nothingness.

 

Laxus opened his eyes quickly as he gasped and panted for air before focusing on Sonya as she stood in front of him, her hands supporting his head and holding tissues to his nose.

"Wha-what?"

"Easy, you're having a nosebleed. I'm just trying to help you out. Hold this in place." Laxus replaced Sonya's hand with his and she quickly headed towards the kitchen. Laxus looked around the room. His shirt was soaked through with sweat and he could feel beads of the liquid running down his back, neck and face. The table and chairs had been put back in their rightful places, the glass and garbage on the floor was gone and he could hear Evergreen cleaning in the bathroom with Rose. Freed and Lucy stood from their places at the table and came over to Laxus.

"Hey, you doing alright?" Lucy asked.

"Yea, I'm fine," Laxus said.

"We were concerned about you when you didn't respond to us calling your name," Freed added. "Sonya informed us of what you were doing and said she'd keep an eye on you while we worked but it would be best if we left you be." Sonya came over and handed Laxus a glass of water with a straw that he quickly downed.

"Sorry I didn't intend to leave you guys to do all the cleaning without me," he said.

"You're fine. I should've realized you hadn't actually tried checking the link before. It's gonna take some time and practice before you're able to check like I did earlier," the caramel-haired Wizard said gently as she took the empty glass back. Lucy bit her lip.

"Sorry. I probably shouldn't have exploded at you earlier," she said as she began twisting her pinkie finger.

"Lucy, don't," Laxus said sternly.

"But it is my fault," the other blonde insisted. "You checked the link because I got upset at you over nothing."

"Lucy," Sonya said gently as she wrapped an arm around the other girl. "It's fine. It's good that Laxus tried it while he was with people who can help him out once it's done because otherwise it's likely he'd hurt himself."

"Hurt himself?!" Lucy cried.

"But that won't happen," Sonya stressed. "He's here with us, and we can keep an eye on him. I've already tried it myself, and I've been able to practice until I can check at a moment's notice. He and I will talk and everything will be fine. Calm down." Lucy nodded and turned sorrowful eyes toward the other blonde.

"Lucy, I'm fine. Go back to what you were doing before," Laxus said before he attempted to stand up. Attempted being the operative word. Upon getting to his feet, Laxus' ears were overcome with a sharp ringing sound that deafened him to his environment. The room seemed to tilt and his knees buckled. Sonya and Freed quickly moved to support him.

"Easy," Sonya whispered gently as she and the Rune Mage helped the hulking blonde sit back down on the bed. "Freed, can you get Rose please?" As the green-haired male began to stand, Laxus felt blood slipping down his face again.

"Absolutely." Sonya handed a wad of tissues to the blonde male and his shaky hands pressed them to his nose. The sound of the curtain being moved had Laxus turning towards the bathroom as Rose came towards him.

"Sleeping Beauty's up?" she teased as she approached.

"Yea. But before he woke up, he started having a nosebleed that just got started up again, and he almost collapsed a second ago. I think all the sweating he did may have also caused some dehydration. You got anything for that?" Sonya asked.

"I should. Hold on a moment." Rose left the apartment and headed back downstairs as Lucy sat down beside Laxus on the bed.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"Lucy, this is not your fault. I should've paid more attention to what he said," Sonya stated firmly. "There's no need for you to be apologizing so much."

"And I already said I'm fine," Laxus added.

"And yet, you can barely stand up without falling over, and your nose is bleeding again," the younger blonde snapped.

"Well, that's probably because he has no idea what to do with the link. Laxus, what exactly happened when you relaxed?"

"Well…it felt like I was falling for a little bit." Sonya's eyes widened slightly. "What?"

"Then what happened?"

"Well…Then I don't really know what happened. But it was like I could feel certain emotions, taste things and see colors all at the same time. Enough so that I could group them together."

"Could you smell anything? Hear?" Laxus shook his head and the caramel-haired Wizard smacked her forehead.

"What?"

"You allowed yourself to relax too much into it. You basically gave all control over to the link, and doing that is extremely dangerous. I'm not kidding, you could've very well ended up in a coma or killed yourself! Geez!"

"Not like I knew what I was doing!" Laxus snapped back as he pulled the tissues away from his face again.

"Still, I didn't expect you to relax that much," Sonya said as she started pacing back and forth between the bed and the front door as Rose came back up the stairs with a mug. The scarlet-tipped blonde watched Sonya pace for a moment before she walked past her and handed the mug to her brother.

Almost immediately Laxus covered his nose to block out the scent.

"What the hell? It smells like a stable!" he said. Lucy's nose scrunched as she smelled the tea.

"It's called ashwaganda, Laxus," Rose stated. "As well as some sage and yarrow. Just ignore the smell and drink it, it'll help." Laxus rolled his eyes and quickly downed the drink, trying to focus more on the sage and yarrow scents over the ashwaganda. Once the drink was gone, Laxus handed the mug back to his sister who placed a hand on her hip and turned to Sonya. "For now, don't let him do any heavy lifting until we get a better idea of how he's doing and what this link will do to you guys."

"You know, I'm sitting right here and I can hear you," Laxus said, earning him a glare from his sibling.

"I'm telling Sonya because I know she's going to make sure you obey the orders. Trust me Laxus, you and I are very similar. I hate being told what to do even when it's for my own good. If you're anything like me, you're gonna want to disobey those orders the first chance you get. Sonya is someone I know can handle your stubborn ass and make you sit it back down if the need arises," the scarlet-tipped blonde said, poking her brother's chest with her index finger as she spoke.

"In that case, he can help Lucy sort through the papers," Sonya spoke up. "And Freed and I can get started in the kitchen."

"That sounds good. Evergreen and I managed to get the washes off the bathroom walls and we were starting on the floor when you called me in here," Rose reported.

"Where's Lexi? I thought she wanted to help with the cleanup," Laxus asked.

"Downstairs, drawing with Bickslow," Rose said with a little giggle near the end that made the hairs on the back of Laxus' neck stand on end. "You know, he actually told me that Lexi is the first kid who hasn't been scared of him, even without his helmet. Maybe it's a sign or something." Laxus' hands clenched on his knees as his sister headed back downstairs with the empty mug.

"Wow, you really did not like that, huh?" Sonya asked, glancing at Laxus' clenched fists.

"No, I didn't. Think is, Bickslow is almost like a brother to me and Rose is my little sister. If they tried something and it didn't work out, I wouldn't want to be put in a situation where they're uncomfortable, or where I have to choose between one or the other," the blonde male said. Sonya rolled her eyes.

"Laxus, as long as I've known Rose, she's been able to keep business affairs and personal separate. Heck, even after she and Lahar broke up, if I had a question she couldn't answer, she'd call him and get the answer right in front of me. She never acted like she was upset, though. But if you ask her about Lahar in a non-professional atmosphere, expect her to blow up on you," Sonya said.

"Why's that?"

"Because he's an arrogant, lying, manipulative asshole who'll just as likely lecture you on what you're doing wrong about every fucking thing as look at you," Rose snapped as she reappeared in the doorway. "Aside from that, part of the reason I cut off the relationship was because he decided to test Lexi's DNA against that of some of the prisoners without my permission. When the Council found out, I got fired because they thought I'd done it and was lying to cover the fact that one of them could be my daughter's father. The minute I found out it was Lahar, I tried talking to him about it and he didn't say it outright, but he effectively said 'Screw what you want I'll act like I can control you how I want.' So I decided I was going to join Fairy Tail once I finished moving, prove to him he has no control over me." Laxus' fist clenched again.

"He did what with Lexi?" he snarled. Rose nodded.

"Yea. He collected her DNA without my permission and had it tested against that of some prisoners of the Magic Council. All based on the fact that she only has my eye-color and a few of the prisoners had family with red hair or skin tones similar to Lexi's. Believe me, I wanted to kick the bastard's ass to Bosco."

"Couldn't you have kicked him into a coma?"

"I still want to!" Rose said, frustration turning her neck and ears red. "The worst part is that the Council won't give me the results of the tests, no matter what means I use to get them, so I don't even know what I'm fighting against here. Because if even one person is a partial match and Lexi does something wrong later on in life, I have no doubt that these…elected officials-" Rose quickly let out two swift coughs to cover a very clear 'cock suckers' before she cleared her throat. "-could use that a basis to lock up my baby!" Laxus let out a snarl.

"Over my dead body!" Sonya snapped, her own fists clenching.

"That's not right no matter how you look at it!" Lucy cried.

"Like I said, the cock suckers don't give a fuck about whether or not they break their own damn laws so long as they get to stay in power," Rose said with a shrug before she took a few deep, calming breaths. "Now, we should probably continue cleaning up." With that, Rose headed back to the bathroom to continue her work with Evergreen.

"Rose, can you send Freed to the kitchen to help me out there?" Sonya asked as she stood up.

"No problem," Rose said. The caramel-haired Celestial Wizard turned back to Laxus and Lucy.

"You two can handle organizing the papers on your own?"

"Yes, we should be able to," Lucy said as she and Laxus headed over to the table and took a seat. Every page and paper on the table was placed in a pile in the center. In one corner was an open chest with a few envelopes in it and both sides had a couple of stacks of paper.

"So how are we doing this?" Laxus asked as Freed passed them to head into the kitchen.

"Um, any envelopes go in this chest, any papers you find with numbers in the top right hand corner are handed to me, any pages with a check mark or an X over the whole page go in the trash, and then there's spreadsheets, pages of calculations and then blank pages. Okay?" Lucy asked as she grabbed a couple of papers from the middle pile.

"Sure," Laxus said as he grabbed a couple as well and began looking them over.

The two settled into a comfortable silence as they worked. After a few handfuls of paper, Laxus came across a page that caught his attention from the first sentence. His eyes began scanning over the page, reading the words as the curly, flowing script began describing the fires of a sunset reflecting off the mirror-like ice on mountain peaks and the reflection on the snows around the character.

"Laxus?" The blonde male let out a little grunt as he finished the page and looked up at Lucy.

"Did you write this?" Lucy's cheeks went red as she snatched the page from his hand. "Did you?" Lucy began chewing on her bottom lip.

"Yea."

"Lucy, that's really good." The blonde female's face reddened further. "I'm serious."

"It's really not. I can't find a way to put it into my story," she said.

"Lucy, whether or not it works in the story, that was incredible." She shook her head.

"Really it's not."

"Aside from you right now, who says it's not?" Laxus asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Natsu and Happy. They'll constantly make fun of it whenever they get their hands on it," Lucy mumbled. Laxus sighed.

"First off, Natsu can barely read to save his life. Second off, those two wouldn't know good anything if it bit them in the ass. Trust me, that's good. I don't get sucked into readings easily, but that had my attention from the get-go." Lucy hid her face behind the page.

"You don't need to lie," she muttered.

"I'm not lying. You can ask Freed to look at that if you want. He can probably give a better analysis than me but still, that's incredible, Lucy. You have a good tone through the piece and the descriptions almost had me thinking I was really there." Lucy set the page off to the side and grabbed a few more from the middle pile.

"Can we stop talking about it please?" Laxus sighed and raised his hands in surrender.

"Alright. But I'm gonna let the fact drop that you're a good writer Lucy."

"Fine," Lucy said as she began organizing again. Laxus grabbed another handful and an evelope fell back onto the middle pile. Lucy quickly grabbed it and placed it gently in the chest.

"What are those? More writings?"

"I guess you could say that…They're letters to my mom. She passed away when I was ten and so I write to her. Kinda to…keep her around. She used to go on business trips that lasted a month at most so I'd write to her as a kid. So I keep doing it now. It helps keep her close. Like she's on another business trip," Lucy explained.

"Did your dad ever go on trips like that?" Laxus asked. Lucy shrugged sadly.

"Sometimes he went with her and I'd be left with the servants at the house."

"Well, if you do this for your mom, maybe you can do it for your dad too. Maybe it can help you cope with the grief," the male suggested as he handed over another page of writing.

"Maybe. I hadn't thought of that," she mumbled as she placed the page in the pile it belonged.

"It's just a suggestion," Laxus said.

"Thanks for it," Lucy replied before a knock on the door called their attention elsewhere.

"I'll answer it!" Sonya called before the click of the door opening rang through the entry way. "Oh, Master. Is there something we can do for you?"

"I was hoping I could speak with Laxus. I asked around and Kinana said you all would be here. May I come in?"

"Of course Master!" Lucy said as she stood up and headed for the entryway, Laxus close behind her. The old man stood beside the door with his hands behind his back.

"What's up Gramps?" Laxus asked.

"I came to inform you that your presence will be required for a meeting first thing tomorrow morning with a client. Count Balsamico wants to hire us for security at his ball this year."

"Count Balsamico?" Lucy mused. "Where have I heard that name before?"

"Among the elite, they're famous for their New Years Ball during which a young lady would be proposed to in time for the couple to share a kiss at midnight," Makarov explained.

"Oh yea! My dad almost had me go to one of those as a debutante before I ran away," Lucy said, causing Laxus to let out a low growl.

"Easy there, big guy," Sonya remarked. "What time should we be there again?"

"7 am sharp. And dress professionally," the old man said before walking out the door. "Keep up the good work kids!"


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Laxus learns the particulars about the Balsamico job.

Laxus let out a low sigh as the minutes ticked by. Lucy was seated at a nearby table, wrapping a dozing Erika up in a fur blanket as Sonya cleaned her empty bottle. Rai watched them from the center where he was curled up in his smaller form. Rose was seated at the same table, sipping at a cup of tea as Lexi drew pictures. The Thunder Legion were sitting around the table as well, ready to take their places behind the bench where Laxus and Makarov were waiting for their client's representative.

The client had sent a messenger in their stead and although the meeting was supposed to take place at seven, already they were over two hours late and Makarov had already started drinking, despite insisting they wait until the representative arrive before going about their day.

Laxus could think of at least a dozen productive things he could be using this time for instead of waiting for some pompous windbag and at least thirty not-so productive things. On top of that, it was likely the messenger barely had even a tenth of the actual story. No one hired an entire Guild, no matter how small, for security without good reason. Good reason meant a story and that meant something was going on that this Balsamico didn't want his buddies in the elite class to know about.

Sonya came over and set a plate of crackers, meat and cheese in front of him before taking a seat next to him with a sigh.

"You alright?" he asked.

"Honestly, no. I can't believe we're doing this," she said solemnly. "I looked into this ball last night. It's really exclusive. Unless you're a Wizard of reputation, you have to have an invitation. But the girl of the evening must say yes to someone. If not, her father does it for her. It reminds me of those cattle auctions you'll see in farming towns. I understand people not growing up the way I did would do that to cattle as they won't communicate in ways that humans understand easily. But the fact that the elite reduce their daughters to such levels is disgusting. Most of these girls are put through hell by the end of their lives. Once they pop out an heir and their bodies aren't as tight and pretty as they used to be, they're tossed aside like trash and expected to be okay with being alone while their husbands go off and find mistresses to play with. In the meantime, they're expected to keep their mouths closed and their legs shut with their husbands while still maintaining the house and making sure their husbands look like gods among men. And it's all for alliances between businesses. Don't get me wrong, some Native tribes who influenced Papa's raising of me did arranged marriages too. But there was always respect on both sides and consequences if something happened. It's the complete opposite today."

"Seriously?" Laxus asked.

"Just ask Lucy. Had she not run away, that would've been her fate," Sonya replied.

A feeling like a lead weight settled in his chest at the idea. Lucy having to stand side-by-side with some faceless pig in a suit, constantly keeping a smile on even when she was miserable, having to put up with all his shit just to keep up appearances. A growl made its way out from his chest when the unbidden image of Lucy having that pig's child appeared in his mind.

The clearing of a throat brought Laxus out of his thoughts and back to reality, where a man was staring down at him the same way one might a piece of garbage on their shoe. He had pale, icy-blue eyes and a nose that looked like it had been broken a few times. His entire body was round with fat.

"Laxus, this is Count Balsamico's representative," Makarov introduced. Laxus nodded to the man as he sat down in a bench opposite the two Masters. "Please excuse my grandson, he's just starting to learn the responsibilities of Guild Master."

"No need. Let us not take any more time then," he said as he looked at Sonya. The girl stood up and smiled at Laxus.

"I'll be with our family," she said as she headed to the table. The messenger watched her leave and then looked over the other girls at the table as Rai moved to rest on Sonya's shoulders. Laxus shifted in his seat to block the view and leaned an arm on the back of the bench to hold up his head and further obscure the view of his family. Freed caught the corner of his eye and the blonde made a signal for the Rune Mage to stay where he was.

"Shall we begin then?" Makarov asked.

"Yes. Now then. Count Balsamico wants to hire your Guild to provide security for the New Years Ball. There is one person in particular that he believes will appear, a thief named Velveno." The messenger handed over a page, showing a long-faced man with a thin, curling beard on his chin and a large afro at the top of his head.

"I see, so this man is who the Count wants us to watch out for," Makarov said.

"Indeed. The Count wishes to meet with you in person to further discuss the details. This meeting will take place on the day of the Ball at the Count's home where the Ball will take place. And the compensation will be 4,000,000 Jewel for each Wizard who takes part in this job. He has already arranged for your transportation by train." Laxus stomach rolled in warning.

"Thank you for your time sir. We'll meet with the Count on the date," Makarov said quickly. The messenger stood up and his beady eyes traveled back to the girls sitting at the table. Laxus stood up, blocking them from view again. The messenger scowled at him before turning and leaving the Guild, muttering about savages and feminist idiots. Laxus repressed the urge to snarl at the man as he headed over to his family at the table. Sonya stood up and headed towards the kitchen.

"Take my seat. I'll sit on Lucy's other side when I get back," she said. Laxus didn't argue as he took the offered seat.

"You doing alright?" Lucy asked as Rose passed Erika over to her.

"Mostly," the male hissed through his teeth. Sonya reappeared with a tray of drinks and the tray of crackers, meat and cheese. Lexi immediately grabbed a piece of meat and a cracker and began nibbling on them as she continued drawing.

"Forget him," Sonya said. "I find so many pigs like that in society these days. It's sickening but it's reality."

"She's right," Rose spoke up before putting soundpods on her daughter's head. "Even when I was with Lahar, I'd get plenty of gawkers in the Rune Knights. A few times they'd cop a feel too. I'd report it but they'd ignore it and you know why?" Laxus' jaw clenched slightly.

"It's because men think with the wrong head and unfortunately, birds of a feather flock together so the biggest of them with the tiniest heads are at the top of the pyramid," Sonya said.

"Uhh…wanna run that by me again?" Bickslow asked.

"Basically, so many men believe that their penises give them supreme power. And since lots of men think with the head between their legs instead of the one on their shoulders, the ones at the top, aka the Magic Counsel, claim to have the biggest ones. However, they likely have the tiniest dicks anyone's ever seen," the caramel-haired Wizard said as Lucy's face turned bright red. Rose nodded.

"I agree. I mean, Lahar couldn't even make a tent in his pants so, unless he was completely asexual, I wasn't sexy, or he's not into women, I wouldn't be surprised if he barely cracked an inch at full mast," the scarlet-tipped blonde agreed. Lucy slid down into her seat slightly, trying to hide her tomato-red face in her shirt.

"Can we stop talking about this please?" the blonde squeaked. Rose giggled.

"What would you like to talk about Lucy?" Sonya asked.

"I don't know! Anything!"

"Well…Perhaps we should start preparing the others for this ball," Evergreen said as she opened her fan. "After all, aside from Lucy, Laxus and the Thunder Legion, I don't think anyone else in the Guild knows how to dance. So perhaps we should get some practice in as we have four days."

"Actually, if I remember correctly, the Balsamico Palace is a two-day train ride from here," Lucy spoke up, casting a cautious look at Laxus, who'd frozen in the middle of bringing his mug to his lips.

"And I'm afraid the terrain is too narrow for us to use Charioteer so the train is our only option. So we have today to pack and prepare before getting on the train tomorrow morning?" Sonya asked. Lucy nodded.

"And that's if we are going to arrive a couple of hours before the party," the blonde female said.

"Well in that case, we can probably get in some dance practice today and inform everyone of what's going on before packing up tonight and heading to the station in the morning," Rose suggested. "Since I'm not an official member yet, I'll stay back here and send any stragglers your guys' way." Laxus set his mug down.

"Actually. I think it's time to change that," he said as he stood up and went over to the bar. Rose stood up as her brother grabbed the stamp marked with the Guild's emblem. "Where do ya want it Rose?" The girl smirked and raised her shirt before pointing to a spot just under her left ribs, the same spot Laxus' mark was on his own body used to be. The male chuckled before pressing the stamp into his sister's skin. Once it was pulled away, the black mark stood out against her pale skin. Laxus unbuttoned his own shirt and pressed the stamp into his abdomen, leaving behind the mark just under his tattoo where it rightfully belonged.

As the male re-buttoned his shirt, his eyes met with Sonya's and he smirked, pausing halfway up.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked.

"While it lasts. You'll look like your grandfather soon enough, sweetheart," she said before taking a piece of meat and cheese and popping them in her mouth. Laxus' jaw dropped slightly as Rose and Bickslow burst into laughter and Lucy leapt to her feet.

"You know what?! Let's get started on that dance practice!" she said in an effort to keep the peace. She grabbed Laxus' wrist and began trying to lead him towards the doors, only to have herself yanked back a few steps by the stunned man's inability to move and her own lack of ability to move him by force. "Sonya, seriously, was that needed?"

"Yes. Absolutely. It's to keep his ego from getting too big to fit through the doors." Laxus rolled his eyes at Sonya's comment and followed Lucy out the doors and into the yard, the Thunder Legion following them. Lucy came to a stop in the corner of the yard. Kinana brought out a music lacrima and started the music.

"Let me show you the basic step. Come here and put your hand-" Lucy paused in her teaching as Laxus placed a hand on the small of her back and held her hand gently in his own. A gentle push on her back was all the signal needed for Lucy to start moving her feet with Laxus' in the classic 1-2-3 step of a waltz. "Wow…I didn't know you knew how to dance."

"Gramps made me learn. Something about how dancing helps with footwork in a fight or something like that," he mumbled, the tips of his ears turning pink. Rose giggled from the fence where the Thunder Legion stood watching.

"Laxus sure manages to make it look easy to lead," she said.

"May I have this dance?" Bickslow asked, extending his hand to the scarlet-tipped blonde. Lexi giggled as her mother placed her hand in Bicklow's.

"That sounds delightful." The Seith Wizard lead Rose out into the yard and the two began following the steps Laxus and Lucy moved to, earning a slight glare from the blonde male. Sonya made a tiny snowball and threw it at the Lightning Wizard, hitting him in the cheek. He threw a look at her, to which she replied by signaling his attention should be on Lucy, not his sister.

After a few minutes, more Guild members assembled around the fence, including Erza and Mira, who were talking in hushed whispers. Gajeel was keeping an arm slung over Levy's head, using it to hold his chin up, the other arm was holding Wendy up on the fence. Romeo came up and climbed onto the fence next to Wendy.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Ballroom dancing practice," Wendy explained. "Apparently, we got hired for security duty at a fancy party so we all need to learn."

"It looks super weird."

"Oh no, it's not like that at all," Mira said as she moved into the spot next to the two young Wizards. "If you know how to dance like this, you can meet a stranger at a ball and move your body in perfect rhythm with theirs."

"That sounds cool!" the two younger Wizards cheered before Gray vaulted over the fence.

"What're you guys doing over here? Playing some kinda game or something?" he asked. Lucy scowled at him.

"It's not a game doofus!" she snapped. Sonya covered a giggle.

"This is gonna be good," Rose said with a smirk as she and Bickslow paused for a moment.

Suddenly Gray leapt forward, stripping out of his jacket and shirt before grabbing onto Lucy.

"Let me play a round with ya!" Laxus swung a fist, catching Gray just under his jaw and sending him flying back into the fence. The blonde male snarled once before turning so he was between Gray and Lucy, keeping one stormy-colored eye on the Ice-Make Wizard.

"Saw that one coming," Rose chuckled as the Seith Wizard cackled before they started moving again.

"Same!" Sonya claimed, raising a hand.

"How dare he…" Sonya glanced at Juvia who'd been watching the scene from behind a fence post although it did very little to hide her person. "Using his seductive dance moves to flirt with other girls behind my back."

"Hm?" the caramel-haired Wizard hummed as Juvia stepped out into the yard.

"If you have to strip down to dance with Gray, I am more than willing!" she cried as she threw off the fur around her shoulders, the blue fabric hitting Sonya square in the face as Wakaba and Macao watched her eagerly. The Celestial Dragon Slayer yanked the garment off of her and set it on the fencepost as Erza dragged Natsu into the yard and began spinning him around wildly.

"What the hell?!" Sonya yelled, both at the red-headed and blue-haired women.

"You may not be aware of this, but in certain circles I was once known as the Dancing Demon!" Erza said, pride overflowing from her words. "I don't know why some think it to be so difficult. All one needs is spirit!"

"I hope you realize that's not a compliment," Sonya said. Erza released Natsu and spun around to face the girl, leaving the Fire Dragon Slayer to fall face-first into the snow.

"Of course it is! None can match my dancing abilities!" the redhead boasted.

"I find myself worrying over your apparent lack of brain cells!" Sonya snapped.

"How dare you-"

"Want a repeat of yesterday Scarlet?!" Rose snapped, making the redhead pause as Lisanna came over.

"I could teach Natsu," she volunteered. "Trust me, he'll be cutting a rug like a pro in no time." Before Natsu could even object, the white-haired girl had him spinning again just as Erza had. The boy began screaming about how he was about to vomit and that the dance was the worst thing he'd ever been through.

"How can Natsu be such a big sissy? Come on kid, man up!" Elfman barked before Erza grabbed him and dragged him out into the yard. Wendy whimpered.

"Ballroom dancing looks kinda scary," she squeaked.

"Believe me Wendy, there's nothing to be afraid of," Freed assured as he neared the girl and offered his hand. "Shall we dance?" The young Dragon Slayer smiled and placed her hand in his.

"I'd love to," she said as he led her around the fence and into the yard where they fell into a slow step with Freed gently counting off the movements to her. She'd look down every now and again but otherwise, her eyes remained focused on her partner.

"Wow, Wendy sure is graceful," Happy mused.

"I don't like her prancing about with someone twice her age," Carla snapped as the two Exceeds watched. Sonya and Rai snapped around to give the cat a slack-jawed look.

"Carla, she's learning from a teacher. They're not doing anything wrong," Sonya chastised.

"True. And upon that matter, is she not twice your age?" Rai said sternly.

"That cat is talking to me!" Happy cried, earning a glare from the quad-pedal Exceed before he padded down to the fence and walked over to them.

"I am an Exceed, just as you two and Pantherlily. Now Carla, can you explain to me why is it you show such disrespect to Wendy as you are?" Carla crossed her arms over her chest and turned away, releasing a haughty sound.

"I don't need to explain my actions to tomcats. What I do is for Wendy's own good." Rai shook his head as Sonya rolled her eyes.

"Come here Rai," she said. "Don't mind her, she's just in PHS and needs to cool off."

"PHS?" Carla asked.

"Pre-Heat Syndrome. The cat version of Premenstrual Syndrome that human females sometimes suffer from. It usually causes anger, mood swings, hostile actions, and so on and so forth," Sonya said as Bickslow and Rose moved closer to them.

"In other words, she's saying stop being a bitch, Carla," Rose snapped quietly. Carla's jaw dropped as her paws clenched into tiny fists at her sides at the young mother's language. Bickslow cackled at the cat's expression as Rose giggled. Sonya hopped off the fence and headed over to Romeo, who was watching Freed and Wendy.

"Hey Romeo, how about you go up to them and ask if you can cut in?" the caramel-haired Wizard suggested. Romeo nodded and ducked under the fence before approaching the two. He tapped Freed's back, drawing his attention.

"May I cut in?" he asked. Freed smiled gently and bowed slightly.

"Of course," he said, allowing Romeo to take his place, although he stayed close by two instruct the two.

"Aw!" Sonya said as she covered her mouth at the sight of the two.

"Blue-haired, purple-eyed babies!" Mirajane squealed. "Or black-haired, brown-eyed babies! Oh that would be so cute!" Sonya raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell Mira," she breathed before heading over to Laxus and Lucy. The caramel-haired Dragon Slayer tapped the blonde one on the shoulder, gaining his attention. "May I cut in?" she asked. Laxus stepped away and Sonya took over the lead of the dance.

"Whoa, you know the male step?" Lucy asked.

"It's not difficult. Papa just called it the lead step, not the male. The idea that only men can lead a dance is beyond boring, not to mention sexist. So I know the lead and partner steps," Sonya explained as she spun Lucy once.

Laxus leaned back on the fence and Rai hopped up onto his shoulders. As the blonde Dragon Slayer watched his two Pack Mates dance, he began taking a little more notice of the two and just how different they were.

Lucy had blonde hair that almost reached the ends of her shoulder blades at this point, and big, doe-brown eyes. She was pale and delicate and soft from a lifetime of being spoiled as she had been. Sonya on the other hand had caramel-colored hair that he'd seen out of her usual braid and that reached at least to her rear end. Her blue eyes were smaller than Lucy's but were still somewhat dark, like a summer night sky. She had muscle on her arms, callouses on her hands from years of training and hard work. She was small, probably a couple centimeters shorter than Lucy, but by no means did she look pale and delicate. Her skin was tanned, a testament to the years of training and work she'd done to become the woman she was.

Sonya spun Lucy out and then pulled her back in, causing the two girls to laugh. Lucy's giggles were more high-pitched and sounded as though they came more from her little button-like nose than anywhere else. Sonya's on the other hand were belly-deep sounds that made her shoulders heave up and down, the toned muscles of her diaphragm tensing and releasing in quick succession to create the sounds. Through the movements, Laxus noticed a few things on Sonya's body he hadn't before; nearly invisible scars on her jaw, hands and wrists, and even a few that resembled scratches on her neck and throat. Small punctures, thin lines, even a patch or two of darker skin where healing was still occurring. Her nose was a little crooked as well, as if it had been broken once or twice. Lucy's skin bore no blemishes like Sonya's. Nothing to really show any battles she'd been a part of, as if she'd never even been physically harmed from the moment she was born.

Laxus' eyes made their way down but froze at the two girls' breasts. They were just about level with each other as the two danced through the snow. Sonya's were rather small, probably maxing out at a C-cup at most. Meanwhile, Lucy's were large and round, probably a DD-cup at minimum. Where Lucy had a more hourglass-like figure, Sonya was a little more rectangular, with her hips only being slightly smaller than Lucy's but close enough that they could probably get away with wearing the same pants. Then he began looking over their lower bodies. Lucy's firm ass practically pressed against the fabric of her skirt, revealing the round shape of it, while Sonya had very little shape to her own behind. Lucy's legs had somewhat formed thighs and calves under her socks and boots, where Sonya had muscle tone the pressed against the fabric of her jeans, offering tempting views of the curves she hid beneath the denim.

Where Lucy had curves where most men would want them, Sonya had them in her arms and legs. While the caramel-haired Wizard had smaller assets than Lucy, her curves in her arms and legs were no less appealing. If anything they were just as pleasing to the eye as Lucy's softer curves.

The girls twirled again but as they came in, Lucy's foot caught on something under the snow, pitching her forward into Sonya. The caramel-haired Wizard grabbed onto Lucy's upper arms to keep them from bumping into each other's faces. Lucy moved to thank the girl, only for their lips to meet in what could only be described as an accidental kiss.

Laxus felt himself begin to stiffen in his pants and he shifted on the fence as the girls separated, both blushing madly as Wakaba and Macao began having nosebleeds. Rai swiped a paw at his face, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"Laxus, while I do respect you, please stop staring at the girls enough to arouse yourself," the male Exceed hissed quietly. The blonde nodded and crossed one leg over the other in an attempt to hide the tightness in his pants as he leaned further against the fencepost and let out a little sigh as he continued to watch the dancing lessons as more and more people began to join in. Sonya and Lucy began dancing together again, this time with Sonya teaching the lead step to Lucy. Mira watched from the fence, squealing about babies from various couples, although she left out Lucy and Sonya and Bickslow and Rose, all while Wakaba and Macao were arguing over who would get to ask her to dance. Gajeel let out a little huff before casting his gaze down at Levy.

"Hey," he barked, making her jump slightly.

"Yea, what is it?" she asked.

"Just so you know I ain't the dancing type!" the black-haired Dragon Slayer snapped. Levy stepped away from him, scowling.

"Well, that's just perfect, isn't it, because nobody's asking you!" The two crossed their arms and turned away from each other. Laxus suppressed the urge to yell at them to cut the old married couple routine as Levy's teammates came up to her and simultaneously asked her to dance.

Laxus scratched at the back of his neck, trying to see if he could even remember what their names sounded like as they began arguing over who'd asked the tiny blue-haired Script Mage first, allowing Gajeel to sweep the girl away.

"Okay, fine. If you insist," the Iron Dragon Slayer groaned as he began leading.

"What're you talking about? I never asked you," Levy retorted.

"That's so not fair!" the two other members of Team ShadowGear objected.

"Shall we dance?" Laxus looked down to see Lexi standing in front of him with her arms up. He smiled and took her tiny hands in his colossal ones.

"I'd be honored," he said before Lexi put herself on top of his shoes and he began moving in small steps.

 

Laxus suppressed the urge to puke the moment he sat down in his seat on the train. The arrangements Balsamico had made were for somewhat private compartments that seated four at a time. Freed sat down beside him after stashing their luggage above their heads. Laxus tried distracting himself from the fact he was about to be trapped in this motion-sickness-causing torture chamber for two whole days, but everywhere he looked, all he could think of was the fact that he was on a train. The green carpet, the wood walls, the red seats, the sliding wood door, all of it screamed he was on a train and was going to be close to or actually puking his guts out for two days. The worst part was that Bickslow and Evergreen were in a different compartment so he'd be forced to reveal his deepest, darkest secret to someone outside of his team! The two missing Thunder Legion members were bunking with Rose and Lexi for the duration of the ride and Rai had opted to start the journey with them in order to keep Lexi entertained.

The compartment door slid open and Laxus chanced a glance, only to tense at the sight of Sonya and Lucy entering the small space.

Laxus blinked as a thought came to mind. Sonya had mentioned having gotten over her motion sickness by changing her diet, hadn't she? Maybe he could do the same.

"Hey guys," Sonya said cheerfully as she stashed hers and Lucy's suitcases above their heads and the two took their seats on the bench across from Freed and Laxus.

"Good morning you two," Freed said as he began writing out runes that Laxus recognized as the ones used to help diminish the motion sickness.

"Is that how you manage your motion sickness, Laxus?" Lucy asked as she shut the door.

"Indeed it is," Freed said.

"So how do they work?" Lucy asked as she watched the intricate writing.

"Well. As it stands, they diminish my motion sickness until it's just like I ate something I don't like the taste of," Laxus explained. "But they wear off after about an hour or so and we can't use them again for a few hours. Otherwise, they're less effective. The worst part is, once they wear off, my motion sickness comes back two or three times as worse."

"So it's like you stall the effects?" Sonya asked. Freed nodded.

"Why don't you try runes that completely block out the motion sickness?" Lucy asked.

"We attempted to do so once before," Freed reported. "It resulted in Laxus being reduced to a vegetable state after the hour was up and we couldn't return him to normal until the end of the train ride."

"Oh my goodness!" Lucy cried, covering her mouth. Laxus nearly shuddered at the memory.

"I swear, worst ride of my life."

"Sorry for asking," Lucy said as the train began to move. Laxus felt the runes begin to work as Sonya looked out the window as the station began to give way to a view of the town and the rising sun.

"What of you Sonya? As a Dragon Slayer yourself, do you suffer from motion sickness?" Freed asked.

"I did. But then I tried this one diet for a little while and found out I was allergic to the combination of gluten and red meat juice in my stomach. It caused my motion sickness," Sonya explained.

"How did you find that out if I may ask?" Freed continued.

"Well, at first, I cut everything but a select few foods from my diet for 30 whole days. 30 because your stomach actually generates a new lining every 21 days and 30 makes it a safe bet that it's changed. I didn't eat any artificial sugars, food colorings or flavorings, anything containing wheat or soy, no legumes, no dairy and no alcohol. At the end, I began reintroducing food into my diet, like milk and bread for a little bit in order to see their effects on my body," Sonya explained.

"You know what, I might give that a shot," Lucy said decisively, earning her a raised eyebrow from the compartment.

"Why?" Sonya asked.

"Well, just to see how it affects me," the blonde female said. "Plus, it's gonna be a new year, so why not start it by trying out new things?" Sonya smiled and wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders.

"Alright. Once we finish this job, let's get a little shopping done and I can help you get some food ready. Trust me, the first ten days will be tough. You're gonna crave all those foods you shouldn't eat." Lucy groaned.

"I'm weak against cravings," she whined playfully, earning her a chuckled from the caramel-haired Celestial Wizard.

"You know what, I'll do it too," Laxus said. "If this motion sickness crap is caused by simply a bad combination in my gut, I'd love to be rid of it if I can. So if you keep me accountable, I'll do the same for you." Lucy gave him a wide-eyed look before smiling.

"Sure. Thanks Laxus."

The four settled into a rather laid back pattern of conversing about anything from various books of interest, past missions, and questions about each others' Magic before Laxus' hour of peace came to an end. He barely managed to swallow down the bile that rose up his throat. Sonya let out a gentle hum of sympathy as Freed got up to find a waste bin. Lucy moved to take his spot next to Laxus and gently pulled the Lightning Dragon Slayer to lay in her lap. She began running her hands through his hair for a few minutes before she began applying small amount of pressure to certain points on his skull.

After a couple minutes of this treatment, Laxus felt safe to remove the hand that had been clamped over his mouth in an attempt to stave off the urge to vomit.

"Feel any better?" Sonya asked as she stood up and began pressing her own fingertips into points on his back that helped to reduce the urge to be sick further, although he still looked fairly green.

"A bit," he managed. Sonya smiled before she pulled out the small tray-like parts under the seats to turn the benches into beds. The two Celestial Wizards then pushed the bench cushions together to form the bed itself and helped Laxus lay out on his stomach so his head remained in Lucy's lap and Sonya had complete access to the points on his back to quell the urge to vomit.

A small thought came to the forefront of his mind as he began to fall asleep from the girls' ministrations. If this was going to be how he was treated over his motion sickness, he partially hoped the train would never stop going.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fairy Tail arrives for the Ball.

Laxus woke up to a piece of what smelled like venison jerky poking his nostril. The window was dark and the moon and stars shone brightly through the glass. Freed was asleep against one wall, using his red coat as a blanket along with the one the train provided. Lucy was bundled up against the opposite wall, her own soft pink blanket and the train's dull brown one wrapped around her legs and torso like a human burrito of sorts. Sonya's fur coat acted as her pillow. Sonya sat right next to him, poking him with the jerky piece in her hand as she bit into a bright green apple.

"Eat. You slept through most of the day," she said sternly. Laxus cautiously took the piece of preserved meat between his teeth. It took a moment of chewing before he realized the train was still moving and he wasn't feeling sick.

The blonde sat up and looked around, mostly confused.

"What the hell?"

"You can thank Wendy," Sonya said as she got up and went to her suitcase, pulling out a small brown knapsack. "Freed got her to come in and cast a Troia spell on you while you were asleep."

"I'll have to thank her next time I see her," the male said quietly as he continued to chew on the jerky and Sonya began pulling out other foods from her knapsack.

"If you ask me, we're probably going to need to start you on that diet I mentioned earlier ASAP. If you have reactions as bad as what you exhibited earlier, yeesh." Laxus cast the woman a sideways look as she bit another chunk out of the apple and sucked up the juice before it could escape down her hand.

"We have a few other combinations of rune spells we use, but that one is the most effective for the longest time so we use it more on longer trips," Laxus explained.

"And the consequences don't just affect you now, remember that." Laxus paused for a moment before placing the last of the jerky in his mouth and looking over at Lucy, peacefully slumbering on.

"Are you two okay?" he asked gently.

"Lucy almost turned green like you did but it passed after you fell asleep. I almost threw up for the first time in two years but yea, I'm fine," Sonya said. "Seriously though, next time keep the two of us in mind as well. We understand your discomfort with letting your secrets out, but we're a Pack with a mental link and the rest of the nine years, buster. Eventually, those lines that show where you end and Lucy or I start are going to blur and fade, even for an old badger like you. That means every dark little secret we don't want anyone knowing is going to come out one way or another."

"Oh you have dark little secrets?" Laxus asked, partially sarcastic. Sonya locked eyes with him, the deep blue irises reflecting a type of fear the blonde hadn't seen in a long time.

"Sometimes…I have…flashbacks. Of a life before Draco." Laxus raised an eyebrow. "Maybe they're of a previous life, or they're the memories of before Draco found me in this one. But…they're all horrible. Carts, hammers, monsters barking at me, constantly being scared…" Sonya rubbed at her wrists slightly, drawing Laxus' attention to the small patch-like scars on the outer edge that reflected the moonlight.

"Anything else? Any adults?" Sonya shook her head.

"I never see anyone older than probably 16, unless they're holding a leash connecting them to a monster. Every now and again, I remember a couple faces…but they're blurry at best and they give me a headache." Laxus hummed thoughtfully.

"What can you tell me about those people you remember?" Sonya rubbed at her temples.

"I remember…a little girl…I think. She braided my hair a few times. Then there was a boy…he'd give me food. Can we stop talking about this please? I'm getting a headache."

"Right. Sorry," Laxus said as she handed him a red apple before grabbing herself a can of what looked like soda. "Why are you drinking that this late at night?"

"It's water with a little natural fruit flavoring. It's not…" Sonya paused and turned towards the door.

"What?"

"Shh! Listen," she hissed. Laxus closed his eyes and listened carefully, trying to tune out the clack-clack-clack of the wheels on the tracks. A gentle shfft-shfft-shfft of tiptoeing on carpet reverberated in his ears. He sniffed the air and almost snarled when Natsu's scent of smoke, ash and spice assaulted his senses. Sonya moved herself closer to Lucy and rested a hand on the key pouch on her belt.

The Fire Dragon Slayer slowly opened the door, only to be met with bright stormy-gray-blue eyes and the distinct scent of ozone permeating the air.

"The hell do you want Natsu?" he snarled quietly. The teenaged Fire Wizard snarled right back.

"I'm here to bring Lucy back where she belongs, with my Nest!" Laxus slapped a hand over the boy's mouth and backed him out of the room until his back hit the wall.

"Shut up!" Laxus hissed. "You wanna wake up the whole damn train flame-brain?!" Natsu began speaking behind Laxus' hand and the blonde nearly groaned. "It was a rhetorical question, you runt, I'm not looking for a real answer!"

"If you're here for Lucy, I already made it clear; she's a member of our Pack, your Nest claim is outdone. Therefore, as of me and Laxus coming to realize she's our Mate, you and your Nest have no claim on her," Sonya hissed from the door. Laxus yanked his hand back in disgust as Natsu licked his palm, the pink-haired boy grinned in a way that could only be described as maniacal.

"Draco was nothing more than a commoner, Igneel is a king, the King of the Fire Dragons! That means he's right and Draco's the one who's wrong! So Lucy belongs to my Nest! And I'm taking her back!" he roared, not caring for anyone else on the train being awoken by his volume. Laxus wiped his hand on his pants as Sonya stepped out of the compartment.

"I don't care what screwed up logic Igneel put in that lump of charcoal you call a brain, but let me assure you, Natsu, if you ever try to take Lucy from Laxus or me by any means of force, you will lose the fight that follows." Natsu's fists lit up with fire as he cackled.

"I knew you wanted to fight me ya punk!" he cheered. Sonya's eyes narrowed before her leg swung, landing her knee right in Natsu's gut. She grabbed his shoulder as he began to bend and flipped him over her leg so he ended up sprawled in the tiny hall with his legs in the compartment Laxus and Sonya shared with Lucy and Freed. The caramel-haired Wizard stepped on Natsu's chest and pressed down as he began trying to fight her off, only to find the she wouldn't be moved. Laxus glanced at her, partially uneasy by her little show against a fellow Guild member. He took a few steps back as the train entered a tunnel, throwing everything into darkness, save for Sonya's eyes that were glowing a deep, midnight-purple, reptilian slits replacing the round pupils of a human.

"Listen well Natsu," she hissed, her eyes smoldering with a pent-up fiery rage. "Don't think for one minute, that I will allow you to bring harm to my Pack. I was trained by Draco, the Celestial Dragon, the one the Dragons called their god. I could crush you under my boot right now if I wanted to. But I won't because I know it would make Lucy sad."

The train exited the tunnel and Sonya's eyes diminished in their glow, although they remained the same purple color with reptilian slits. Laxus came over and gently moved Sonya away before hauling Natsu to his feet and dragging him back to his compartment, keeping one hand over the boy's mouth in an attempt to keep him quiet, although the other male was having none of it and would lick at and scream against his palm, kick and flail about like a child throwing a tantrum before he was deposited in the compartment he shared with Erza and Gray. Laxus quickly wrote runes to keep the compartment secure, safe and silent for the duration of the ride. Of course, they'd be allowed to leave if they needed to, but if their intention was to collect Lucy, they'd be stuck. The blonde Dragon Slayer was beginning to seriously lose his patience with this group of Neanderthals.

"Very well handled," Sonya said as he approached their compartment. Laxus looked into her eyes and saw them slowly shifting back to blue with circular pupils.

"What was that?" he asked.

"What was what?"

"That…glowing thing with your eyes just now." Sonya reached up and touched the corner of her eye.

"Oh that? You mean when we went into the tunnel?" Laxus nodded as the two re-entered their compartment and shut the door.

"Yes that is what I'm talking about," Laxus replied as Sonya handed him a granola bar.

"Um…It's part of my Dragon Force abilities. I can tap into them at will. The glowing eyes part allows me to see even in pitch dark, kinda like a cat can."

"Are you serious?"

"Yea. It's also not unheard of for female Dragon Slayers to have their hair color and eye color change when in Dragon Force. Draco and I didn't get that far in my studies but in college last semester, I had a genetics assignment in my science class and I learned about Y and X Chromosomes so my guess would be, unless you know of something different, that male Dragon Slayers, as they have a YX-Chromosome pair in contrast to a female's XX-Chromosome pair, lack the gene required for the changes females go through," Sonya explained.

"I see," Laxus said with a nod. "So what else does your version of Dragon Force allow?" Sonya scrunched her face slightly.

"My version? Um…There's not really versions of Dragon Force, just the one. Yes, some things differ from Slayer to Slayer such as scale placement or color change, but aside from that, every Dragon Force is the same; strength, endurance, and speed boosts, the appearance of scales, fangs, slight increase in body mass, and a deeper connection to the Inner Dragon." Laxus averted his eyes and bit into the granola bar at the mention of an Inner Dragon.

He could remember before and during Fantasia, especially when he was in a fight, hearing something in his head. Back then, he'd written it off as pure instincts, but after Fantasia, he'd started wondering if maybe he should've taken it as more of a major red flag pointing towards some kind of insanity.

"Laxus?" The male hummed in acknowledgement but did not turn towards Sonya. "You've heard your Inner Dragon, right?"

"Maybe," he muttered. Sonya moved herself into Laxus' field of vision, her blue eyes darkened with concern.

"Laxus…Are you…scared of it?" The blonde didn't respond but Sonya let out a sigh and smiled comfortingly. "Well, I wouldn't blame you if you were. Honestly, the first time I sensed my Inner Dragon, it scared me half to death. But Draco taught me how to calm it and work with it to everyone's advantage. If you want, I could help you with yours."

"How?"

"Some training, meditations, and a few exercises. But trust me, it's no cake walk. Considering you've been a Dragon Slayer for years without proper training and it seems like you've been trying to suppress your instincts since Fantasia at least, and to top it all off, Draco knew very little of Dragon Slayers created with Dragon Lacrimas. If we knew who your Lacrima Parent was, that would make it a lot easier in terms of calming the Dragon."

"Lacrima what?" Laxus asked.

"Lacrima Parent. When a lacrima is infused with DNA, like what's required for a Dragon Lacrima, the one who gives the DNA is called the Lacrima Parent. The Dragon who created the lacrima is therefore responsible for the actions of the Slayer in question, as the responsibility of training them falls to the Parent," Sonya explained.

"I see."

"Thankfully, pure yellow Lightning Dragons were fairly rare so identifying yours should be easy. Once we determine who exactly they are, we can figure out a way of training you to work with them so we have as few conflicts as possible and make life as easy as possible for everyone."

"Pure yellow Lightning Dragons?" Laxus asked. Sonya blinked owlishly.

"Um…There's some Lightning users who use Blue or Red, or mixes of those, like Blue-Yellow or Red-Blue. In nature, more often than not, you'll see lightning in a storm and it looks more blue or silver than yellow, right? There are occurrences of yellow or red lightning, but they're not as common. The mixed colors are more common to see in all Lightning users, especially in Dragons. So the fact that you use pure Yellow Lightning, points towards you having a Yellow Lightning Parent, as opposed to having one of the more common Blue Lightning. Does that make sense?"

"I think so," Laxus said. "Basically, Lightning users and the color of the lightning they use are kinda like real storms in nature. Blue-hued lightning is more common to see in nature than yellow or red. And Lightning users are the same, there's more Blue Lightning users than Yellow or Red, right?"

"Exactly," Sonya said before knocking back more of her drink.

"So how many Pure Yellow Lightning Dragons do you know about?" he asked.

"Well…there's Thoriela, the first Lightning Dragon Queen, and Jupenitus and Zeulnil, her youngest sons. They're the most famous. Then there's the more obscure ones like Setheros, Aplutenmu, and Indraoya and probably about a dozen others. Maybe Lucy can summon Crux so we can figure out who exactly we're dealing with when we go through these meditations and exercises."

"Alright. And what if my Parent looks like one Dragon but is actually another?" Laxus asked.

"Well, every Dragon looks different. Often times, Dragons' appearances would differ based on the regions they'd live in, and then there's personal markers such as scars, missing scales, deformations, how the teeth line up, the jaw's appearance, and stuff like that and some Dragons even wore gems, or rocks or even bones, and then there's the voice. So through these meditations, you should be able to at least hear, maybe see an outline of the Dragon. We already know that this Dragon is a Yellow Lightning so it's likely that this Dragon is a yellow color or something close to that."

"I see. So each Dragon was different?" Sonya shrugged.

"Every single one was different in their own ways. You'd be surprised. Some brothers and sisters from the same litter would look absolutely nothing alike, based upon who their parents were."

"A litter?" Laxus asked.

"It's what Dragons called their hatched eggs. Unhatched, they were called a clutch. Dragon Slayers adopted the terms and used clutch to describe unborn children, and litter to describe children post-birth. What I find funny is that some Dragon Slayers actually would have three or four kids at a time." Sonya giggled but Laxus' eyes went wide at the revelation.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yea. Those were really fertile ones though. Most other Dragon Slayers would have one baby at a time, just like humans," Sonya said as her giggles began to cease.

"I see…" Laxus muttered as his thoughts began wandering again. He was a healthy adult male and had partaken in his fair share of the fairer sex. Maybe a little more than his fair share if he was honest. While there were times he'd been so drunk he couldn't remember anything from the night before, he knew there were times he'd used protection. But even then, there were times when protection didn't actually protect against anything. What if somewhere out there was a little kid with half-Dreyar blood in their veins?

Sonya snapping her fingers in his face brought him out of his musings.

"You've been staring at one spot for the last five minutes. What is it?" she asked. Laxus bit the inside of his cheek. He had very little experience with people as a whole. But thanks to Evergreen and her rants about deadbeats she'd been with over the years, he knew for a fact that women did not like the idea of the men they were involved with mentioning women from their pasts. Yet, here was the draconic equivalent of one of his fiancés, asking him to talk about his thoughts on women he'd previously slept with.

"You won't like it," he warned, hoping that would end it. Sonya gave him a deadpan glare.

"Laxus. Trust me, considering your age and the age you've grown up in, never mind the environment, I would not be surprised if you've slept with women before."

"And you're not upset with that?" he asked. Sonya sighed.

"I'm gonna say, I'm a slight bit disappointed. But no, I'm not upset. I understand everyone grows up differently. I personally have not slept with anyone and I don't plan to until after going through the Covenant Veil. Sleeping in the same bed is fine, but actual sex, not happening. But Draco did tell me one thing in particular about Dragon Slayers that may help you out some: Until you pass through the Covenant Veil, Dragon Slayers are basically infertile. So even if I had sex every day for an entire year, if I have not passed through the Covenant Veil, I won't get pregnant. Same would be true for you."

"Really?" Laxus asked. Sonya nodded.

"Yea. So all those women you've slept with before, could not possibly have your child." Laxus nodded in understanding.

"Okay, thanks. Anything else I should know about Dragon or Slayer breeding, or this Covenant Veil?" he asked.

"Well, there is one other point you may want to really know," Sonya said. "The Covenant Veil is a part of the Mating Process. There's different marking points that the Pack has to go through after the Veil. But once the Covenant Veil has been passed through, it kinda shuts down the lust for others outside of the Pack."

"Are you serious?" Sonya nodded. "So if you, Lucy and I go through the Covenant Veil, we'd only be interested in each other?"

"And our Omega if we have one," Sonya added. "But yes. Basically. But just because that's what happens in the Pack, I don't want you to get any wrong ideas. I said earlier, I'm kinda disappointed that you've slept with women before. Mostly because I'm jealous that they got to experience and explore you in ways Lucy and I have not."

"But isn't this polyamory? Doesn't that mean there's no jealousy?" Laxus asked.

"That's not true. Within Packs, there's not really a lot of jealousy. But outside of this Pack, I'd get a little jealous of other women who know you better than I do, because that means they've had experiences with you that I might never have, they have a connection with you that I may never have. The first woman you slept with, I'm exceedingly jealous of her because it was her you gave your virginity to. All the others you slept with, I'm jealous of because they taught you different things about a woman's body that I kinda wish you could've learned with me and Lucy. I've never slept with a man so all I really know is that there are points on your body that may or may not arouse you sexually and aside from putting a penis in a vagina, I have no idea how sex works and I mean actually works. As in the way it's supposed to."

"The way it's supposed to?" Laxus asked.

"Yes. As in the way it's supposed to be. Marriage is supposed to be the unification of different people into a single unit, a family, a couple, however you want to put it. Sex, as Draco and Ma-Pi explained it to me, is supposed to be a fusion of different souls within that unit. It's meant to be different persons coming together in one of the most intimate, passionate and potentially life-altering ways our world has ever known," Sonya explained as she began picking at a piece of dead skin on her thumb.

"Okay. Can I explain something to you, as someone with experience?" Laxus asked as he laid back a little over the bed. The caramel-haired Slayer nodded and crossed her legs under herself before setting an elbow on her knee to rest her chin on her hand.

"Go ahead."

"I understand you being disappointed about my not being a virgin. While I was with Rose, she kinda woke me up to that idea of the double-standard our world has. We expect girls to wait for marriage to have sex, otherwise they're called whores. Yet men are not held to such standards and if they withhold from having sex until marriage, they're mocked. So yes, I'm even a little disappointed that at one point I had the same mindset about how men and women should handle their sex lives. But I want to make something clear. What you're describing is called 'making love'. But what I did with those women in my past, that's called 'fucking'. I have no emotional attachment to those women, no spiritual connection, heck I think half the time I didn't even see their face the whole night. It does not write off what I've done, because yes, by the pure idea of sex being a penis being put in a vagina, I am not a virgin. But in terms of making love, I am a virgin. It may not completely be what you had expected, or what Lucy expected, heck I never expected it of myself. However, it is what I can offer."

"I see," Sonya said as she nodded. "Thanks for telling me that. And like I said, I'm not surprised you've had sex before, based on your personal history, the environment you grew up in, and everything you've been through. I'm slightly disappointed that Lucy and I won't be able to have that experience of you losing your sexual virginity to us. However, you will be able to lose your virginity to making love with us, as we will with you. I am fine with that, but Lucy is someone you might need to repeat this conversation with, okay?"

"Yea, I hear ya," Laxus sighed. "Anything else you want to talk about?" Sonya shrugged.

"You?"

"You mentioned something to Lexi, about how this Covenant Veil makes you and Lucy like my…backup batteries? How does that work?" Laxus said. Sonya sighed slightly before letting out a little giggle.

"Can I clear that up first? I used you for a couple reasons. One, you're Lexi's favorite person to hear about after her mother. Second, you're S-Class so it's more likely you'll be on the longer, harder jobs. So I want to clarify that with the Covenant Veil, we all act as backup batteries for each other. If Lucy's using more Magic, she'll get the boost. If I am, I'll get the boost. If more than one of us is using Magic at one time, whoever is using the most will get the boost. And it works similarly to our ability to heal. Our link detects when one of us is using Magic, just as our bodies do when we cast a spell. Our brains all stimulate our bodies to absorb Eathernano. So let's say I'm on a job and start using Magic and your bodies begin trying to make more. There will be some used to expand your Magic inside your body, allowing you to have more energy to cast more spells, while some of the excess will also be sent to me, to refill my Magic energy. Does that make sense?" she asked.

"Makes sense to me," Laxus said. "I have another question. How does this whole Covenant Veil thing work? Like how do we make it or pass through it or whatever?"

"It varies from Pack to Pack. Some Packs have created literal veils from their Magic, some Packs had a simultaneous vision or dream of the exact same thing and some even had dreams that were different but when they woke up, the Veil had been passed through. So I can't say for certain what will happen to us."

"Alright. But how will we know if we've passed through it? Just, lack of interest in others?" Laxus asked.

"Partially. But there's a little more to it than that."

"How so?"

"One big signal would be that we might not be able to tell if we're in our own body or not for a couple of minutes. The link intensifies that much. Remember when you first tried accessing the link in Lucy's apartment the other day? It's kinda like that but you're 100% aware of what you're sensing."

"Wow. Speaking of that, I don't think we ever got around to talking about what I did wrong," Laxus said as he sat up. Sonya nodded.

'You're right, we didn't. Wanna cover that now? Or would you prefer to cover some of those meditations and exercises I mentioned in order to work with your Inner Dragon?"

"Might as well work on the link. While it's unlikely, it might be a good idea to at least know what I'm doing while we're at this ball so I can check on you and Lucy if needed."

"You make a valid point. And since we have tonight and tomorrow you should be able to get in enough practice to check in a moment like how I did the other day."

"And you've still been practicing since then?"

"Yep. I don't need to close my eyes anymore when I can see her. It might be small, but it's progress," Sonya explained. "Now, can you start by just meditating for a few minutes? Focus mostly on yourself, how your Magic flows through you, and where you find the link. But before you try anything I'll need you to describe what the link is like for you." Laxus nodded before he closed his eyes and began taking deep, calming breaths, until he could sense the difference between his Magic and the link in his mind.

"It's kinda like there's two bumps in my head. One's kinda smaller than the other."

"Yep. The bigger one links you to Lucy. Considering you've known her longer, it makes sense your bond with her would be even slightly stronger. Plus your last attempt at this was with her, so that might have helped it grow further. But for right now, I want you to focus on the smaller one, that's the link you have with me. Try imagining it like a string stretching out between yourself and myself and then put your hand on it. If you start sensing anything, let me know."

Laxus took another deep breath and did as instructed, imagining the smaller spot in his head becoming a string so he could place his hand on it. He could almost feel a sort of hum in the back of his head that spread through his being, filling him with a deep sense of calm.

"Calm…It's almost…like a wave. Just washing through me."

"Yep," Sonya said as Laxus opened his eyes.

"How long was that?" She shrugged.

"Thirty minutes? Forty-five? But you're doing good. No nosebleeds at least," she chuckled. Laxus rolled his eyes as Sonya handed him a bottle of water. "Remember, you're not used to doing this yet. Some more practice with being in control and you should be able to check in only a minute or two. It might take the rest of the ride though. I'd recommend trying to sleep for a little bit in between sessions if you can." Laxus took a drink and nodded before twisting the cap back onto the water and laying down to sleep a little. "Good night you old badger."

"Good night Sonya," he replied.

 

By the time the Balsamico Palace came into view, Laxus could honestly say he was exhausted of Natsu's joyful crying about how he was never going to ride a train again. However, considering that the train was their quickest way home aside from Laxus using Lightning Teleportation on everyone, the pink-haired Slayer may not have a choice.

Laxus had only taken the train because it wasn't proper to show up to a client earlier than expected and two days wasn't a lot of time to take another job an. And while the ride had been somewhat torturous, he'd found himself honestly enjoying his time with Lucy and Sonya. The other blonde had gotten some practice in using the mental link as well and he had managed to catch up with Sonya. Of course, Lexi hadn't missed a few opportunities to spend time with her uncle during the trip. And a few times, they'd called Kinana back at the Guild to check in on her and Erika. Then there was Lucy's lessons on etiquette during a ball of this caliber. Although Sonya had made her extremely poor opinion of that idea very well known, she did at least pay attention. Aside from that, the trip had been extremely pleasant.

But once the Guild left the train, it had gone downhill from there. Evergreen hadn't expected to be forced to walk from the train station to the Palace and as a result, hadn't worn proper shoes. Sonya had given the brunette a piggy-back ride to solve the issue. Mirajane and Erza were picking a fight with each other, Natsu and Gray were arguing as usual, Elfman was yelling about being a real man or being manly, and the worst part was that Laxus could hear Macao and Wakaba talking about the more endowed women of the Guild and he could feel the embarrassment and anger coming from Sonya's part of the link, even though she wasn't one of the topics of their discussions. It helped to alleviate the anger some when he'd zap them every now and again.

"We're here!" The cheer snapped Laxus out of his thoughts as Sonya set Evergreen down.

"I didn't realize it was so far away," Gray groaned as he stretched his back some.

"A small price to pay for the chance to dance," Erza said firmly.

"We're here to catch an escaped convict Scarlet," Laxus ground out through his teeth, thoroughly annoyed by the redhead. The door opened and out stepped a young woman, probably his age at the very most, with long auburn-brown hair and matching eyes, dressed in a beautiful red dress.

"Um…you're a little early," she said gently.

"Wow! What a fox!" Laxus heard Warren scream in his head.

"Is it really necessary to scream that inside of my head?!" Lucy demanded as Makarov stepped up.

"My name is Makarov Dreyar, I'm the Third Master of Fairy Tail. We're here regarding a job the Count posted in our Guild Hall."

"In that case I'll take you right to him. My name is Aceto and my father is Count Balsamico," the young lady introduced with a curtsey.

"She's too pretty to have such an ugly name," Warren thought.

"We can hear you, you idiot!" the Guild snapped before following Aceto inside. She led them through a number of corridors and up a few staircases before they came to a drawing room decorated with two simple couches, an easel featuring an untouched canvas, a coffee table, and shelves full of books on either side of the double doors.

"Please, have a seat," Aceto said sweetly. "I'll go collect my father." Laxus nodded as Lucy took a seat on the couch. He quickly moved to sit next to her before his grandfather could or any of her former teammates. Sonya sat against the arm next to Lucy like some kind of bodyguard. Rose and the Thunder Legion stood behind Laxus and Lucy as Makarov took a seat next to his grandson. Lexi giggled as Lucy picked her up and sat her in her lap. Rai let out a warm chuckle as he laid himself over Laxus' shoulders.

Laxus put an arm around Lucy gently as the rest of the Guild began looking around the room, or in the case of the former Team Natsu, glare at him as he held Lucy.

The doors opened and Aceto walked in and sat down in the couch opposite Laxus, Lucy and Makarov. A tiny man walked around the couch and then promptly sat down in Aceto's lap. He had brown hair parted in the middle and curled at the ends, with some up in a ponytail on top of his head. He also wore a purple shirt with a green bib around his neck, red-and-white striped baggy pants that were tucked into tight white, thigh-high socks and pointed purple shoes. His eyes were beady and small and his mouth was puckered, giving him the appearance of having eaten a lemon before entering.

"Welcome and thank you for taking my request. I am indeed Count Balsamico!" he proclaimed in a nasally voice that were almost equivalent to nails on a chalkboard for Laxus' ears.

"This guy is hilarious! He's got a sour name…" Natsu laughed, earning him a glare out of the corner of Laxus' eyes.

"And a sour face to match!" Happy added before Laxus shocked both of them. Sonya sighed and shook her head.

"Let me get straight to the matter," Balsamico said as if nothing had happened. "I want you to know that there is more to this job than what the messenger was told."

"I thought so, sir," Laxus said, Makarov nodding beside him.

"I am exceedingly concerned for the well-being of my precious daughter who means more than the world to me," Balsamico began.

"Then why'd ya give her such a silly name?" Natsu laughed. Laxus whirled around and shocked him again, this time knocking the other Dragon Slayer out. Gajeel rolled his eyes and Wendy let out a strained chuckle.

"Our apologies for him," Makarov said, scratching at the back of his head. "Please continue sir."

"Yes well. Tonight's ball is very important for tonight her future husband will be chosen."

"We suspected that would be the case sir," Makarov said. "Are there people from her past you're concerned with appearing, such as stalkers or old suitors?"

"No, that is not the problem," Balsamico said. "You see, every year a daughter of the Balsamico family is the lady of tonight's ball, we bring out an extremely precious ring that has been passed down through our family for countless generations."

"Oh I see," Lucy said. "And you're afraid Velveno's going to try to steal it from you?"

"I'm absolutely certain of it, as he tried and failed seven years ago. But that was the first time my daughter was the lady of the New Years Ball, and he ruined the celebration that night. We'd promised the following six years to other young ladies so this is the first chance we've had to try again with my daughter," the Count said.

"I see. However, given his unique appearance, wouldn't entering without detection prove difficult for him?" Freed asked.

"He's very skilled at both Transformation Magic and Magical Drain," the Count explained.

"Magical Drain, what's that?" Mirajane asked.

"It allows him to temporarily take on the type of Magic used by anyone he comes into contact with. It is very dangerous indeed," the Count said grimly.

"Oh man, I wanna use Magic like that!" Natsu cheered.

"I entrust full safety of the ring to you. Work together and make sure he fails to snatch it again! And what's more I want him captured and put back behind bars where he rightfully belongs!" the diminutive Count screamed.

"Understood sir. Thank you for this information," Makarov said.

"Um…just one more question," Rose spoke up. "Your messenger mentioned some reward for the job and I just want to confirm what that is?"

"The reward is 4,000,000 Jewel to each Wizard bearing the Guild's emblem upon the completion of the job," the Count reported quickly. Aceto bowed her head as her father hopped off her lap and left the room before following him out. Once the doors shut, Laxus let out a sigh before turning around to face Natsu as he shakily rose to his feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Laxus asked. Natsu gave him a curious look.

"What now?"

"You insulted the client about his name and face, to his face!" the blonde hissed as he stood up.

"Laxus, I will handle Natsu," Makarov said firmly. "You work with everyone else and figure out a plan for the ball tonight, alright?" Laxus nodded and Makarov left the couch to grab Natsu and lead him out of the room.

"So Laxus, what is your plan for tonight?" Freed asked. The blonde nodded as he stood up.

"We'll have three layers of security. One outside watching the perimeter of the palace, one patrolling the halls inside, and one in the ballroom itself. Erza, Natsu, Gray, Bickslow, Nab, Macao, Wakaba, Gajeel, Laki, Gildarts and Team ShadowGear minus Levy will make up the first layer that will remain outside. Bickslow, Gajeel, and Gildarts will be in charge and decide among themselves who exactly will go where but Bickslow, I want you to keep Nab close," Laxus started. Bickslow's tongue flopped out as he let out a cackle and gave the blonde Dragon Slayer a thumbs up.

"You got it Boss man!"

"The second layer will be made up of Gramps, the Exceeds, Cana, Vijiter, Max, Warren, Alzack, Bisca, Romeo, Levy, Mirajane, and Juvia. You all will keep an eye on the halls using security lacrimas and patrols."

"Wait! Why must my beloved Gray and I be kept apart?!" Juvia cried, earning her a curious look from Sonya.

"You want to go outside in the freezing cold snow, be my guest water woman," Laxus snapped. "I put you inside because you're a Water Wizard and Gray is an Ice Wizard. He'd be perfectly fine out there meanwhile you'd have to melt the snow in order to use it. Now the inner layer will consist of Lucy, Sonya, Freed, Evergreen, Lisanna, Wendy, Elfman and myself. We'll keep an eye on the guests assembled and investigate anyone who seems suspicious. Rose, since Lexi and Azuka are here, I'd like you to keep an eye on them, alright?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Rose said with a nod.

"But I wanna go to the party too!" Lexi objected.

"Yea!" Azuka agreed.

"You girls will. Thing is, it has to be for grown-ups until midnight. If you girls are still up at that point, you can come," Rose assured, earning cheers from the younger two.

"Alright. Let's start getting ready!" Sonya said with a confident smile.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pack attends the Balsamico Ball and the new year begins.

Lucy smiled as Cancer finished his work, leaving her to look at herself in her reflection in her dressing room. She wore a red dress that was cut up to her hip on one side, had a low V-neck and twin straps that reached up behind her neck to connect before creating a pseudo-choker around her neck, giving the appearance of the dress being held up by the dainty knot in front of her throat. Her hair was pulled back so the top half was in a sort of ponytail tied off with a red ribbon and the bottom half was curled. Her makeup looked practically nonexistent but made her skin look as though it literally glowed.

"All done baby," he said with a grin.

"Thank you. But what'll happen if I'm so beautiful someone proposes to me instead?" she asked as she stood up and twirled once to see the skirt of the dress flare out. Cancer vanished back into the Celestial Spirit Realm as Lucy left the room.

"My word Lucy, I never thought you'd dress like that." Lucy looked down the hall at Evergreen as the lady approached. The brunette's hair was piled on top of her head and held in place with a beautiful strap covered in pale-blue gems. Her gown was a beautiful bright red with an orange ruffle down the middle. The skirt was wide and round and the sleeves were separated from the top portion of the dress, coming to the middle of her forearms. Red pine tree earrings hung from her lobes.

"Holy smokes Evergreen, you look awesome!" Lucy cried as she strated fiddling with one strap of her dress. "Suddenly, I'm feeling a little self-conscious."

"Don't be silly. You look good yourself. I'm sure that one look at you in that dress and Laxus won't be able to keep his hands to himself." Despite Evergreen's cheerful tone, Lucy felt a little uneasy at the words. "There is something I wanted to discuss with you, girl to girl?"

"Yes?" Lucy asked.

"We in the Thunder Legion owe a lot to Laxus. He helped us get to the points we are now in our lives. We're supposed to be his bodyguards but he's the strongest of all of us. We all look up to him and care about him. So please be straight with me, how do you feel about him?" Evergreen asked. Her eyes were gentle as she spoke and Lucy sighed a little, letting her shoulders drop.

"I don't know honestly. This whole Pack and Mate thing is all so new to me. I know it is with Laxus as well and Sonya's doing her best to explain it and help us get through it, but right now…I just kinda wish we could…I don't know, press pause on it for a bit. This is all happening so quickly. I just found out my dad died a month before we returned from Tenrou. Laxus and I talked about his feelings and we both agreed that I'm not in a good place emotionally to be making such huge investments in people that this Mate thing is forcing me into."

"That's understandable," Evergreen assured.

"But I want you and the Thunder Legion to know that I do care about Laxus too. And Sonya," Lucy said. A thought struck her and she looked up and down the hall. "Speaking of, have you seen her yet?"

"No. But I do believe she's just one door down. Shall we check on her?"

"Yea." Evergreen looped one arm through Lucy's and smiled brightly as they knocked on the door. "Sonya? You in there?"

"Yes. You can come in." Was the soft reply. Lucy glanced at Evergreen, who gave a troubled scowl before opening the door. Sonya sat in a chair, back perfectly straight. Her hair was free of its usual braid and curled gently so it fell down her back. Her gown was a beautiful gold color with a skirt that ended just above her mid-thigh in the front and dragged along the floor behind her. It was strapless with a sweetheart bodice that pressed her breasts together. Her feet were desked with nude suede heels. There was even makeup on her face, giving her eyes a smoky appearance and smoothing out the tone of her skin.

"Whoa, Sonya, you look beautiful!" Lucy said in awe. Sonya smiled.

"Thank you," she said as she stood up and came over to the girls slowly, stepping mostly with her tiptoes. She wobbled a little as she neared the door and Lucy and Evergreen were quick to help her support herself. "I'm not used to wearing stuff like this." The girls giggled a little among themselves, although as they left the room and headed towards the ballroom, a sort of weight seemed to settle in Lucy's chest and stomach.

 

The girls looked around the ballroom as they entered. Above their heads, a few platforms powered by lacrima were floating around, carrying dancing pairs around. Lisanna was on one, dressed in a beautiful blue gown like the one she'd worn in Edolas, but this one was a little darker and had long sleeves instead of gloves. Her partner would constantly look down at where Elfman was glaring at them and looked to be snarling. The white-haired male was dressed in a white pressed suit with a red tie. Wendy was standing off to the side of the room near one of the pillars, dressed in a beautiful little pink dress with a red shawl lined in white fur, white gloves and her hair pulled up into twin pigtails. Lucy could see a group of girls roughly the Sky Dragon Slayer's age standing not too far away in a cluster. Some would look at her and smile and wave, to which Wendy would smile and wave back cheerfully.

The image made Lucy's stomach roll. She knew those types of girls. In fact, she'd been at the center of one years ago. Those girls looked down at anyone who appeared to not belong in the upper elite class and the smiles they were shooting at Wendy weren't intended to be friendly at all. The girls would smile and wave to see if they could get a reaction out of Wendy and then they'd go and whisper horrible things about her when they turned back to face their friends. One day, these girls would be stabbing each other in the back with horrid rumors of sleeping around, snoring, tomboyish behavior, anything that would make them look better in order to get the best husband for themselves. If Lucy was honest, she pitied those girls. As she thought back on it, the whole reason she'd been involved in it at all was because she was lonely and wanted the other girls to like her, to fill the void left by her father ignoring her for so long. She'd been Lucky Lady Lucy Heartfilia, the girl every girl wanted to be and the girl every guy wanted to be with. The reason she'd been dragged to balls like this one was to socialize, make connections and find a man who could make a suitable husband one day. It wasn't unusual for girls Wendy's age to be shown off by their fathers like trophies.

Freed was standing near the food table, chatting up some of the other gentlemen with a flute of champagne in his hand. He made it look so effortless, Lucy wouldn't have been surprised if he'd been born in the upper elite classes.

"Odd. I can't see Laxus anywhere," Evergreen observed. Lucy looked around as well and hummed to herself in thought. A blonde man that tall and covered in muscles should've been catching plenty of attention from the ladies. Even with the scar bisecting his eye, he'd practically be the perfect specimen of a man that they'd want as a husband, even the ones who were already married. But he was nowhere to be found.

"Yea…Where could he be?" Lucy mused.

"The security lacrimas are showing he's on his way," Warren reported using his telepathy.

"Well, I suppose we should get started then," Lucy said. Evergreen nodded and began moving about the ballroom floor as Sonya stuck close to the walls, still wobbling on her heels. Lucy headed towards the food table. All three women began watching out for anyone suspicious.

"Whoa! I think a candy-haired angel just walked through the door!" a man yelled as he leapt in front of Sonya, surprising the young lady some. "You came way too far from heaven to be frowning like that beautiful! Dance with me and smile!" Lucy looked over, noticing many others doing it as well. The blonde felt her teeth clench. The man had caused a scene by speaking so loudly and now if Sonya was caught in a lose-lose situation. If she refused, she'd be called a snob as the poor boy had plucked up the courage to ask her and complimented her as well. If she accepted, she'd be a pushover.

"Very well," Sonya said, placing her hand in the man's as Warren instructed Freed and Elfman to tail the two. He all but yanked her onto the floor and began spinning the two of them around. Lucy bit the inside of her cheek in partial horror. There was no grace to the dance, barely any coordination and Sonya kept wincing as the man's feet would step on hers.

"May I have this dance?" Lucy snapped around and found herself looking at another man's hand. She followed the hand up the arm, over the wide shoulders, up the thick neck and into the stormy-gray-blue eyes of one Laxus Dreyar. Lucy's jaw nearly dropped. His scar was gone, completely vanished as if it had never been there before. It was almost unnerving to see him like that.

"Yes, of course," the blonde female said quickly as she placed her hand in his. She looked over his suit as he led her onto the floor and they began to dance. His white jacket was almost militant in appearance, with gold accents and a deep blue lining on the inside. "What the heck happened to your scar? It's completely gone," she whispered.

"Runes," Laxus said, shifting his arm some to reveal the tiny purple script on the inside of his wrist. "It's a glamour. The scar's a little too recognizable for undercover work like this so we use it from time to time. So long as I don't use my Magic, I'm covered."

"I see. So, seen anyone suspicious yet?" she asked.

"Not yet," Laxus said, casting a quick glance around. "But I don't think you will need to worry if he tries to copy your Magic. He'd need your Keys, right?"

"Yea, good point. Maybe we should've just had our Holder-type Wizards in here."

"Perhaps. But there's not a lot of you right now," Laxus replied before the two fell into a moment of silence. "You…look good…by the way," he said as he spun her once.

"You think so? I'm honestly surprised this old thing's held up over the years. I wore it on a cruise ship the first night I met Natsu," she said.

"That sounds like an interesting story."

"Oh? Well…Okay then…It was in Hargeon. There was this person called Bora the Prominence who was pretending to be Salamander from Fairy Tail, and was using a charm spell to woo girls into coming onto his ship for parties where he'd take them to Bosco." Lucy continued on with her story of what brought her to the Guild as the song ended and another one began. Sonya watched the two from the wall for a short while before she headed for the doors leading onto the snow-covered balcony outside.

She leaned against the stone railing, pressing a hand to her sides as her breaths came in short pants and coughs. The corset under her dress was tight on her ribs, the iron bars inside the piece threatening to break bones each time she took a breath it deemed too deep. She attempted to stand upright, only to have her high heels slip on a tiny patch of ice, sending her to her knees in the snow. Goose bumps appeared on her arms as she tried to move again, only to have one heel step on her skirt and rip it as she moved to rise.

"Oh come on," she coughed as she placed her hands back on her sides in an attempt to alleviate the pain there somehow. She'd never worn a corset in her life and she'd said so when it was pulled onto her and tied so tightly she could barely breathe. Another fit of coughs had her almost bending over on the railing for support as her legs shook and spots danced across her vision. A dark blur caught her eye and she turned to face it, her ears beginning to ring. Suddenly the world seemed to tilt and Sonya felt her head smack against something before she knew no more.

 

Laxus winced as a sharp feeling of pain raced through his temple. Freed noticed the momentary change in his friend and cautiously looked around.

"Is something wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know," he said, glancing around. Lucy was rubbing at the same temple as she approached. The blonde male quickly looked around the ballroom but saw no sign of Sonya's caramel-colored hair.

"Hey, Laxus, have you seen Sonya around?" she asked.

"No I haven't. I wouldn't expect her to be necessarily shy at a party," Laxus replied. Freed looked around the room and caught sight of a door leading to the balcony open slightly.

"A door to the balcony is open. Perhaps she went to catch a breath of fresh air?"

"Maybe," Laxus said.

"I'll go check it out," Lucy said as she moved towards the door. Laxus quickly followed after her. Freed bit into his lip slightly and looked around the floor again as he took a sip of champagne.

Lucy opened the door leading out onto the balcony and slipped through, only to freeze in her tracks. Sonya lay sprawled out over the snow with blood trickling down her face.

"Sonya!" she cried. Laxus rushed past her and over to the other Celestial Wizard. He bit off a strip of cloth from his jacket and pressed it to her bleeding temple before checking her neck and spine for any injuries. Lucy came over slowly.

"Go get Wendy. I'll take her to one of the dressing rooms we used," Laxus ordered as he tied the strip around Sonya's head and scooped the unconscious girl into his arms. Lucy nodded and hurried back inside to do as told.

 

Wendy was still just barely moving around, simply waving at the girls in her age group when they smiled at her but their smiles made her insides cold.

"Wendy!" Lucy whispered as she neared quickly. "Sonya needs you, come on." The blue-haired girl didn't ask any questions, merely followed after the blonde as she led her back down the hall that lead to the dressing rooms they'd used not too long ago.

"What happened?" Wendy asked as they moved as quickly at Lucy's high heels would allow.

"We don't know. Laxus and I felt a pain in our heads and went to check on her. Her temple was bleeding and she was unconscious when we found her," Lucy explained before she growled in frustration. "You go on ahead, I'll be there in a second." Wendy hurried along the hall as Lucy reached down and pulled off her shoes before following the girl.

 

Laxus paced the floor of the room he'd managed to find. Sonya was laid out on a lounge couch against the wall opposite the door so when Wendy arrived she could get right to work. Sonya's panting set the pace of his feet as he wore a groove into the floor.

After what seemed like hours, but could've very well have been seconds, Wendy and Lucy burst into the room. Wendy darted over to Sonya and began healing the wound on her temple. Lucy shut the door before leaning against it and chewing nervously on her lip.

"Uh…Mr. Laxus?" Wendy called. "Can you or Miss Lucy help me here? She has some bruised ribs and whenever I heal them, something seems to re-bruise them just as quickly." Lucy hurried over and reached behind Sonya to unzip the back of the dress, revealing a white corset that had been pulled so tight that there was no space between the two sides holding the laces together. Lucy quickly began trying to untie the knots holding the laced in place, but her fingers shook, making it nigh impossible to grasp the threads.

"Move," Laxus said as he gently pushed Lucy aside. He covered a finger in lightning and quickly burned through the laces. The corset fell limp and Sonya sucked in a deep breath of air before a coughing fit shook her being. Laxus heard Lucy release a sigh of relief that he echoed.

"I'll go get her some water," Wendy said before she left the room. Lucy all but collapsed onto the lounge and ran her fingers through Sonya's hair as her coughing eased. Laxus felt his knees shake a little but he refused to sit down as Lucy pulled the corset free of Sonya's dress then zipped the back up again. The tiny thing made a slightly metallic sound as it hit the ground and Laxus' fists clenched.

"Well that was terrifying," the blonde female commented. Laxus nodded in agreement as he ran a hand through his hair and panted for breath. A small groan brought their attention to Sonya and her eyes fluttered open.

"What the…" The caramel-haired girl winced and touched her temple before covering her eyes. "Can someone turn out that light please? It's making my head pound." Laxus immediately got up and turned out the light, allowing for Sonya's purple, reptilian eyes to take over. The glow lightly reflected off the polish on the wood furniture and the glass of the mirror, allowing for Laxus to see enough to make his way back to the couch.

"What happened? Was it Velveno?" Lucy asked as if she wasn't surprised at all by Sonya's eyes. Then again, she'd had to work with Natsu, Gray and Erza so she'd probably seen her fair share of weird things in the short time since she'd joined the Guild.

"No. It wasn't Velveno," Sonya said flatly. A feeling akin to being stabbed with an iron stake that had been in the freezer up until that point struck Laxus and Lucy hard in the chest. The forlorn voice in the darkness didn't sound like Sonya at all. Even when she'd been stating her disapproval of the high-class etiquette Lucy taught them on the train, she'd had a passion in her flat tones, a fire in her belly to back up what she said. This voice sounded like someone had punched her in the gut, put out that fire in her belly…And it hurt to hear.

"What happened?" Lucy asked again as she began running her hand over Sonya's soft hair. The caramel-haired girl let out a little hiccup and both blondes felt that icy-cold knife feeling in their chests deepen and expand.

"I fainted." Laxus felt his fist clench as the cold feeling in his chest began battling with a fiery rage as it sparked to life.

"Yea. We figured," he said, a little more harshly than he intended. "But what happened? Did you hit your head? Was it that corset? What?"

"I guess."

"Sonya…" The door opened and Wendy came in with Carla and a glass of water in her hand. She turned on the light and Sonya flinched again, covering her eyes.

"Sorry," Wendy said as she came over and handed the water to Lucy. "She should drink something and rest a bit before she returns to the party."

"Thank you Wendy," Lucy said.

"Hey Wendy, my head is pounding, think you can help me out please?" Sonya asked gently, her tone adding a certain note as if she were about to start chuckling at a joke.

"Of course not!" Carla said loudly. "Wendy explained to me what happened and it's likely you managed to give yourself a concussion! And Wendy already used a lot of power healing your ribs and lungs, not to mention your bleeding skull! Anymore and she won't be able to fight at all!"

"Whoa, Carla," Lucy said gently as Sonya winced. "Calm down okay? Sonya was simply asking a question, no need to get so upset with her." Carla let out a haughty sound as she snapped her head away and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Its fine," Sonya assured. "Thanks anyway Wendy. Go on back to the party, I'll be fine."

"Alright. But...Mr. Laxus, Miss Lucy, watch out for any memory issues, dizziness or further losses of consciousness. Miss Sonya, let them know if you're feeling confused, have blurred or double vision, headaches, drowsiness or sluggish feelings, alright?"

"Thanks doc," Sonya joked. Wendy nodded and she and Carla left the room. Sonya laid back on the lounge and let out a sigh.

"Sonya," Lucy whispered gently.

"You guys should go back too. I'll be alright."

"No," Laxus said firmly, his fists clenching. "Sonya, what the hell happened?" The caramel-haired girl turned her back on the two blondes and curled in on herself slightly before another hiccup of a sob broke past her lips.

"I don't want to talk about it," she said before another hiccup slipped out. "Please just go."

"That's not happening. Something happened and you seem pretty damned determined to keep quiet about it!" Laxus barked as he stood up, rage beginning to spread heat through his chest, replacing that icy-cold feeling from earlier.

"Nothing good will come of getting angry about it."

"Sonya, it's more than that," Lucy said. "We were scared. We found you passed out in the snow, bleeding. We just want to know what happened."

"I can't say." Laxus' fists clenched as Lucy began running a hand over Sonya's hair.

"Why not?" he hissed.

"I can't say," she repeated.

"Was it Balsamico?" Lucy asked. Laxus' back stiffened as Sonya nodded. "You were wobbly on your heels so I guess you don't wear them, you don't normally wear stuff like this dress or a corset…Did someone force you into them?" Sonya let out a couple more hiccups.

"They said Balsamico could destroy what's left of our Guild and that he would if I disobeyed. They took the dress I brought and ripped it to shreds. They spat on me, slapped me if I tried to fight back, stuffed me into all this, told me that I should keep my mouth shut about what I believe about this party and all that." Sonya's hiccups turned into outright sobs. "They…they undid my braid and threatened to chop it all off if I didn't obey. I told them I'd never worn a corset before or high heels but they didn't listen."

"That's awful," Lucy breathed as she pulled Sonya into her arms and gently rocked her. Tears ran down Sonya's cheeks, spreading the makeup into a dark mess as she wiped at her face.

"I…I'm not this!" she yelled. "Never in my life have I felt so humiliated than when you and Evergreen came into the room and saw me like that! I felt like a whore! The only reason I did go out like that was because they threatened the Guild!"

"Sonya, I won't let that happen," Laxus said as he came over and placed a hand in her soft hair. "I promise. The Guild will be fine." Sonya ducked and buried her face into Lucy's side. "But explain something to me. You've grown up in Fairy Tail since you were 12, you should know it's okay to wear revealing things."

"It's not alright by me!" Sonya snapped. "Not at all! On our way here, I heard Macao and Wakaba objectifying Lucy and Mirajane and Evergreen and all I wanted to do was deck them! Every time I saw a Sorcerer Weekly with Mirajane as the centerfold, I swear I was about to puke! I can't wear this kind of shit because it's nothing but practically screaming please objectify me!"

"Sonya, calm down," Lucy said gently. "Can you clarify for us what's going on?" Sonya took a few deep breaths before grabbing the skirt of her dress and wiping her face off with it until the evidence of her tears and the makeup was gone.

"While I was growing up, Draco taught me to respect myself and others. Part of respecting myself was making sure I wore proper clothes. Clothes designed to withstand, to take some damage, where the idea is to be functional, not show off how big my boobs are or my ass. I don't wear makeup because I don't want to put on a false face for anyone. And if people like me, they're going to like me as I am, not as I appear to be."

"Alright," Lucy said.

"I never wore a corset, or high heels, or a dress like this because they don't make me feel confident, they aren't functional, if anything they make me feel like some cheap whore that someone can buy. I can't stand that." Laxus' fists tightened slightly as she let out another hiccup and wiped at her eyes again. "Balsamico doesn't believe that though. He had his female staff break into my room while I was changing. They ripped my dress apart and stuffed me in all this nonsense. I tried to fight back but they threatened to ruin and destroy the Guild if I didn't go along with it."

"Yes, we know that part," Laxus said.

"A few times they'd slap me purely out of spite, a couple even spit on me. 'To keep my pagan gods away' they claimed. Then the…I don't know…the leader I guess…She grabbed me and told me that in civilized society, good little girls keep their mouths shut and their legs open, and all this other bullshit that I barely even remember now."

"Why would she bring that up?" Lucy asked.

"Apparently, the messenger Balsamico sent overheard my earlier conversation with Laxus about respect and how I was raised with Native influence. He tattled to Balsamico, who won't stand for 'Native gutter trash ruining his palace with pagan gods, summer stomps or rain dances' so they said."

"They honestly said that to you?" Laxus asked.

"They thought I was an ignorant savage and wouldn't understand what they were saying if they said it quickly enough. Even their leader spoke to me slowly like I was an idiot." Laxus rubbed at his temples as Lucy wrapped her arms around Sonya gently.

"That's horrible. Isn't there something we can do?" Lucy asked. Laxus shrugged.

"I don't know. We definitely can't do anything right now, but after we leave, we can definitely press charges on assault and destruction of private property."

"Don't worry about it," Sonya said solemnly. "It's just how lots of Fiore people respond to Natives. If you look close enough, you'll find plenty of things that are fucked up about how the great and generous King Toma abuses Natives on a daily basis. His kind of people treat people like me, who care about what happens to nature and that kind of thing, like we're stupid and insane for not putting material objects like money and gold above lives, human or otherwise."

"What?" Lucy breathed.

"Money talks and it talks pure shit," Sonya said as she wiped at her face one more time. Lucy rubbed Sonya's upper arm gently.

"So…stuff like what I wore tonight…does that make you uncomfortable?" Lucy asked. Sonya let out a slow sigh and nodded once. "I'm sorry. If you want I can-"

"No. Don't change for other people, Lucy. Do what you feel is right for you. Yes, it makes me slightly uncomfortable to see you revealing that much skin, but it's not my place to tell you what to do and not do," the caramel-haired Wizard said sternly.

"That's not it," Lucy said, earning the attention of the two Dragon Slayers. "I dress like this because these types of clothes are cheaper than others. Some I tried making on my own but they ended up not quite right. But since I was with Team Natsu, I couldn't afford much else so I had to dress the way I did or risk my nicer, more conservative clothing getting destroyed and ruined. Since neither of us really like these dresses, let's do something about that, alright?"

"Do what?" Sonya asked. Lucy smiled and pulled out Virgo and Cancer's Keys.

"Laxus, can we have the room please?"

"Sure," the blonde male said as he left the room and shut the door behind him. Sonya chuckled slightly as she heard him lean against the door.

"Here we go. Open, Gate of the Maiden Virgo!" The pink-haired maid appeared and Sonya tilted her head to the side slightly at her appearance.

"Is it time for punishment Princess?" she asked quietly.

"Huh?!" Sonya said, somewhat loudly, looking between Lucy and the Spirit. The blonde went slightly red in the face.

"No Virgo, no punishment. I need to ask a favor. Can you bring me two dresses, one for me, one for Sonya to wear tonight? Modest would be best if you can."

"Any color or fabric preferences Princess?" Virgo asked. Lucy looked to Sonya.

"You choose Sonya." The caramel-haired woman bit on her bottom lip slightly.

"Um…Natural fabrics…like cotton or wool…With a sensible design. And how about…white, gold and blue?" Sonya giggled a little when she heard Laxus make a curious noise outside the door.

"Understood Lady Sonya. I will return in a moment. Please excuse me." With a bow and a shimmer of gold, Virgo slipped back into her realm to get the clothes. She reappeared a moment later and handed each dress and a pair of soft flat shoes to their intended lady. Both pairs were a soft golden-tan color.

Sonya held hers up and gasped at the sight. The gown was pale blue with a slightly open collar near the top lined with white fur. The skirt was decorated with tiny white gems that almost looked like stars. The end of the sleeve ended in a small gold ring that went around her middle finger and the hole for her hand was lined in soft pale-gold fur.

Lucy's dress was a pale-blue color near the top and darkened to a deep shade of midnight at the bottom of the skirt. As the skirt darkened, tiny white gems sewn into the fabric became more and more frequent, until they looked like the night sky at the bottom. The sleeves reached her wrists but were slit on the outside, held together in places with thin gold bands with one on the very end to go around her middle finger.

The girls quickly changed into their new dresses and Sonya made sure the last of her makeup was gone from her face as Lucy summoned Cancer to redo her own makeup.

"Hey Cancer, I have a question," Lucy stated as he finished her makeup.

"Yes?" he replied.

"Do you think that if we were to redo my hair, you could have it grow out some?" Cancer smiled as he opened and closed his scissors a few times.

"How long ya want it baby?"

"To my hips please?" Sonya watched with a slight smile as Cancer worked his magic on Lucy's hair, growing it out before having it pulled into a long braid decorated with cyclamen, helleborus, phlox and Queen Anne's lace blossoms. Then the Crab Spirit moved on to Sonya and pulled her hair into her usual braid and instead of her usual glass beads, he added in ivy leaves, holly, and sprigs of pepperberries.

Once the Spirit was done, Lucy dismissed him back to the Celestial Spirit Realm, and the two headed towards the door.

Laxus was pacing the hall's width as he'd been waiting and froze in the middle of the corridor as the girls came out. He could feel his jaw go somewhat slack upon seeing that Lucy had changed even her hair. The girls let out a giggle and he quickly schooled his expression, turning his back to them and heading back towards the party.

"We should get back to work," he said quickly.

"Alright," Sonya said as she and Lucy linked arms and followed after him.

 

Rose let out a low sigh as she checked her watch for the umpteenth time. It was only a little after 11:45, meaning soon Aceto would be engaged, their job would be over and Lexi and Azuka could go to the ballroom and have some fun before the Guild went home. Currently, Makarov had opted to ditch Warren in order to play with his great-granddaughter and Azuka in the room Rose had chosen to remain in.

Through the night, Warren had been pretty good about keeping her up to speed with everything that went on, including Sonya's little fainting spell, its causes and after-effects. Upon hearing what Balsamico's servants had done to her best friend, Rose had started imagining the various ways she'd take revenge if she was ever given the opportunity, especially on Balsamico himself, and had even written some down for later use if the need ever arose.

"Lexi? Is something wrong child?" Makarov asked, drawing Rose's attention to her daughter. The little redhead was staring at the door as if expecting someone to walk through at any moment.

"Lexi?" Rose asked as she stood up from her chair. Lexi blinked and looked up at her mother. "You okay sweetheart?"

"I thought I heard something…" Rose went over to the door and opened it enough to poke her head out and look up and down the hall. No one was in sight.

"I don't see anything honey," she assured as she shut door. Lexi let out a little hum of understanding as Rose went back to her seat, her eyes shifting from her daughter to her grandfather as he tried to re-engage the child in play, to the door. She was somewhat uneasy about what could've pulled her seven-year-old from playing. Both Lexi and Azuka had taken a little nap after they'd arrived so she couldn't be tired and they'd eaten dinner and a snack so she couldn't be hungry. The last time she'd seen Lexi like this was on Christmas Eve after Lucy had been brought into their apartment. Before then, it had been after her break up with Lahar.

"I heard it again!" Lexi said as she opened the door and raced down the hall.

"Lexi!" Rose yelled as she raced after her child. "Gramps! Stay with Azuka!"

"Will do!" he called as he watched his granddaughter round a corner and vanish from view. He pressed two fingers to his temple. "Warren, Lexi's run off. She claimed she heard something that neither Rose nor myself heard."

"Understood Master. I'll see if I can get anyone to help catch her."

 

"Laxus!" The blonde male winced as Warren's voice echoed in his head.

"What?" Laxus mentally snapped, irritated at the volume and the fact he was being interrupted in the middle of another dance with Lucy.

"Lexi ran off. She claimed she heard something but neither Master nor Rose heard it. And then she just took off." Laxus paused in his steps and Lucy gave him a concerned look.

"Any idea where she is?" 

"Yea, I'll send you her location." 

"You alright?" Lucy asked.

"Yea. Lexi's running around the Palace is all. I'm gonna go find her. You stay here with Sonya and keep an eye out for Velveno." Lucy nodded and Laxus led her off the dancefloor before heading into one of the many halls.

"Where's he going?" Sonya asked as she walked up to Lucy.

"He's going to look for Lexi with Rose, apparently she ran off." Sonya nodded. "Has she ever done that before?"

"Not really. When she's with me, we tend to follow what she's hearing. Her mother doesn't do that too often though," the caramel-haired Wizard explained.

"Look," Wendy said, making her presence known beside the two Celestial Wizards. "Miss Aceto's up on the balcony." The girls all looked up and sure enough, Aceto was being led down the stairs by her father. Her long hair was partially pulled up, creating a sort of bob around her head. She wore a beautiful white dress accented with red roses and purple silk. Many of the men in the room were openly staring, even the ones with wives currently. Count Balsamico chuckled to himself as he observed the behavior.

"It looks as though all the men here are intimidated by my daughter's beauty," he boasted as he and his child came to the foot of the stairs. Sonya moved to slightly hide behind Lucy, who placed a hand in her fellow Celestial Wizard's. The men of the ball began to circle around Aceto, even Elfman and Freed joined in the circle.

"The way you sparkle is so manly!" Elfman cheered, earning a chuckle from the young lady.

"I am a girl, you know," she said before turning towards Freed. "Now, may I have the honor of this dance?"

"Of course," the green-haired Rune Mage agreed as he gently took Aceto's hand and began moving across the floor with her. Sonya kept her eyes on the Count as his face seemingly puckered even more.

"Doesn't seem like the Count likes his daughter dancing with Freed too much," she said with a slight giggle. Lucy chuckled and squeezed Sonya's hand gently.

"Imagine what he'd do if she got married to a Fairy Tail Wizard." The two burst into quiet giggles. Wendy headed towards the food table and a young boy with blonde hair dressed in a green suit came up to her.

"Excuse me miss, may I have this dance?" Wendy smiled and placed her hand in his.

"Yes, thank you." Sonya and Lucy watched on as Wendy and the boy began dancing.

"AW!" they cooed.

"That slimy little rug-rat's got some nerve! Wendy is way too young to be dancing with boys!" Warren declared in their minds.

"She is not," Sonya objected.

"I've gotta agree," Laxus' voice rang through the Guild-wide link Warren sustained. "That punk would be lucky to still be breathing if it was Lexi." 

"With that in mind, imagine how you'd react if it was Rose in Aceto's place," Lucy thought.

"Save that argument for after the job!" Rose objected as trumpets began to blast sound into the ballroom. A maid stood at the top of the stairs, holding a red velvet cushion that bore a small golden ring with a pink diamond at the top.

"The Balsamico Family ring," Sonya murmured.

 

Laxus rounded another corner and descended a flight of stairs before he was able to grab a hold of his niece just as she was about to pass.

"Where do you think you're going?" he asked as Rose ran up to them. Lexi looked just past him and pointed, causing the two adults to turn. Laxus' eyes widened as he caught sight of a young boy dressed in a green suit with blonde hair, the boy who was supposed to be dancing with Wendy right that minute. He was tied up and gagged.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked as she came over and untied the boy.

"Some guy with a huge afro tied me up when I left the bathroom!" he explained quickly. Laxus' eyes widened and Rose met his gaze.

"Go! I'll take care of the kids!" she barked. Laxus nodded and took off towards the ballroom again.

"Wendy! Watch out that's Velveno!" he roared into the Guild-wide link.

 

Wendy blinked as Laxus' warning registered in her brain and she stepped away from the boy. He smirked and leapt up into the air.

"Transform off!" he declared. His blonde hair curled and darkened to black, his skin darkened and his body grew into an adult's. His green suit turned into white slacks and an orange jacket. "I'm me again!" Velveno cheered as he landed on one of the floating lacrima platforms. Wendy clenched her teeth as Velveno sucked in the air around him, using Wendy's Magic. "Sky Dragon Roar!" he bellowed, blasting the ballroom with air until the ring flew up. The thief caught it in his hand and laughed boastfully.

"You gotta be kidding me," Sonya snarled before she ran forward and leapt towards one of the floating lacrima platforms, only for her senses to be overcome with a wave of dizziness that had her completely missing the platform and instead sprawling on the dancefloor.

"Sonya!" Lucy cried as she rushed towards the other girl.

"And now the Balsamico family's precious ring is in the hands of the one and only Velveno!" the afro-sporting thief cheered as Lucy helped Sonya sit up.

"He did it," Aceto breathed as Freed stood in front of her.

"Why you rotten thief, give it back this instant!" Count Balsamico roared as Laxus raced into the room and shot a lightning bolt at Velveno, who countered with one of his own. Laxus snarled as his glamour spell faded away, revealing his scar.

"It's pointless!" Velveno said as he leapt down to face the Fairy Tail Wizards now flanking Laxus in front of Aceto. "I already copied the Magic of every Fairy Tail Wizard who came to this little shindig!" Laxus snarled again.

"In that case, it looks like we may need to resort to more old-fashioned methods to defeat him," Freed said as he stepped up next to Laxus. The blonde male popped his knuckles with a smirk.

"Now that sounds like fun," he sniggered as he stepped towards Velveno. The thief's eyes widened.

"Whoa man! Hold up! I ain't here to brawl!" he cried, taking a few steps back as Laxus came closer. The blonde paused.

"Then why are you here?"

"He's here to steal the ring you Neanderthal!" Balsamico roared in his squeaky little voice. Laxus couldn't help a small smirk as Sonya stepped in front of the tiny man and for added insult, she stepped on his foot. "How dare you-"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sonya said innocently as she covered a smile. "I'm just an ignorant savage, I don't know what I'm doing." Laxus nearly laughed at her sarcastic tone and how Balsamico's face reddened and puckered even further.

"Look man, I'm here 'cause I screwed up last time and this might be my only chance to try it again," Velveno said as he held up the ring and looked past Laxus. "Aceto, I got something big to ask ya." Lucy came over to the hulking blonde and pulled him out of the man's way so he had a clear view of Aceto.

"Seriously?" Laxus muttered.

"Shhh!" Sonya and Lucy hissed at him.

"We've known each other ever since we were little kids, and this entire time, I been crazy in love with ya," Velveno began.

"You were the low-born child of one of my servants yet I still permitted you to play with my daughter! Have you forgotten your place?!" Balsamico screamed, making Laxus and Sonya wince and Velveno chuckle.

"Every time I came to see Aceto you'd remind me. You said we were from two different worlds that shouldn't mix. Then ya kicked me out onto the street first chance ya got, 'cause trash like me doesn't belong in your palace!" the man barked at the Count. Aceto whirled around.

"Daddy, you never told me he'd come to visit!" she yelled, her eyes starting to shine with tears.

"And you don't need to be hearing anything about this now!" he screamed back.

"Hush!" Sonya yelled, gaining the attention of the ballroom. "Anyone who takes the ring is allowed to propose, and he counts as anyone." Velveno's eyes widened as Sonya turned back to him with a kind smile. "Go on Velveno, do what you came to do." The man nodded his thanks and walked up to Aceto before getting down on one knee.

"Miss Aceto Balsamico, please tell me you'll be my wife," he begged, holding up the ring.

"Can't you see this is a waste of time-" Sonya slapped a hand over the Count's mouth and Aceto took a step towards Velveno.

"Yes. Yes I will," she said, a bright smile coming to her face as tears slipped down her cheeks, washing away some of the powdered makeup, revealing freckles. Most of the room burst into a sound of surprise as Velveno leapt to his feet.

"Wow are you serious?!" he cried, an equally bright smile coming to his face.

"Of course! I've been waiting for you to return ever since you were sent away. But…there is one small thing. Turn yourself in. I do love you and I know you were wronged by my father, but you still need to pay for your crimes." Velveno nodded and slipped the ring onto her finger before the couple kissed. The bells began to toll midnight and Sonya started clapping. Soon the rest of the Fairy Tail Wizards joined in, followed by the rest of the ballroom.

"That was so beautiful," Lucy commented.

"Yea, he's the sweetest guy ever," Wendy agreed. Laxus rolled his eyes.

"Women. Warren, tell everyone to come inside. Our job is done." 

"You got it Laxus!" the Telepathic Wizard cheered through the link as Aceto and Velveno separated and smiled at their audience. Within a few minutes of congratulations, the dancing resumed, with Velveno and Aceto perched on the balcony as they danced, and the Fairy Tail Wizards adding to the numbers within the ballroom.

Lucy couldn't help a small smile at the couple and Aceto was gently showing her new fiancé how to properly waltz. Even in the elite upper class she'd run away from, some managed to be good people and find true happiness, despite what others expected of them.

"Hey, Lucy." The blonde turned around to see Natsu smiling at her.

"Oh…Natsu. What's up?" she asked as she turned around. Natsu took a hold of her hand and began leading her away from the ballroom. "Wait! Natsu hold on a second!" Natsu ignored her in favor of leading her down a hall and a flight of stairs. "Natsu, where are we going?!" Lucy demanded.

"Away from Laxus and Sonya. Don't worry Luce, it's gonna be okay." Lucy continued to tug on her arm, but Natsu's grip only tightened.

"Natsu, let go of me!" she demanded as she kicked off her shoes and planted her bare feet on the cold floor. The pink-haired Slayer raised an eyebrow curiously at her.

"Lucy, I told you it's gonna be fine. I promise I won't let them keep hurting you. And Erza's our Alpha…well…Until I Rank her that is!" he boasted with his usual grin. Lucy pulled on her arm.

"The only one hurting me right now is you! Let go of me!" Natsu released her arm and the blonde fell back on her behind.

"Lucy…What did they do to you?" he asked gently as he neared her.

"What?"

"Did they put a spell on you? Did Laxus say something to you about throwing all of us out of Fairy Tail? Did he threaten to do the Battle of Fairy Tail again? Oh please tell me he did!" Lucy let out a little noise as Natsu practically leapt into her face in excitement. "If he did then I'll get to fight this time around! I still don't get why I couldn't get through that barrier before…But whatever!"

"What? No! No, no one did anything to me but you!" Lucy snapped as she stood up. "Laxus never threatened me, no one put a spell on me, no one did anything but Team Natsu! You guys constantly caused me trouble! You'd eat all my food even when I could barely afford to feed myself, I'd barely ever be able to pay my rent, and none of you would give me my personal space! For crying out loud, you all have your own homes so you never needed to go breaking into mine!"

"I didn't break in all the time! Sometimes I used the key!" Natsu defended as he stood up. Lucy blinked a few times.

"Key? What key?" she asked.

"The key to your apartment," the boy explained. Lucy backed away a little more, only to have Natsu move closer.

"What key to my apartment? There's only two copies and only my landlady and I have them!"

"Mira gave me a spare," Natsu said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around Lucy and pulled her into his chest. "See Lucy? Everyone in Fairy Tail's got our backs. We don't need to worry about Laxus."

"Get off of me!" Lucy screamed at the top of her lungs, making Natsu jump back.

"Lucy?!" The two looked up at the stairs as Laxus and Sonya slowly approached. Natsu put himself in front of Lucy.

"Don't worry Luce. I got these clowns. You run and find Erza."

"What? No!" Lucy objected, stomping her foot on the ground.

"Just do what I say and everything'll be fine!" Natsu snapped. Laxus snarled.

"That's enough Natsu!" he barked as Lucy ran around the pink-haired male and up the stairs. Sonya wrapped her arms around the blonde and glared at her fellow Dragon Slayer.

"You're a disgrace to the name Dragon Slayer! Lucy has done nothing wrong and yet you give her orders like you're Alpha when you've clearly said you aren't!" she snapped at the male.

"Yea! That's just until I Rank Erza!" Sonya's eyes widened and her jaw went slack. Laxus glanced over his shoulder at the young woman.

"What's he talking about?" he asked.

"Ranking. It's a Dragon ritual. Beta-Gammas use it most often to determine who will lead the Pack after an Alpha's death. Sometimes an Alpha, under extreme circumstances, would use it to calm an enraged member of their Pack, or will use it on outsiders who invade their territory. For a Pack member to suggest Ranking an Alpha is the highest level of disrespect one can show, for their Alpha, for themselves, and for their entire Pack. The Alphas are the leaders, there's no two-ways about it. They're designed to lead. A Beta, Gamma and Omega follow an Alpha into various situations of their own volition."

"Oh shut up Sonya! The hell do you even know! You can't even get it straight that Lucy's a part of my Nest, not your Pack! Draco's the one who's wrong!" Sonya let out a growl and her eyes flashed purple for a moment.

"Uncle Laxus?" Laxus glanced upwards at his niece at the top of the stairs holding her mother's hand with the Thunder Legion standing behind her.

"I thought I heard voices," Rose said definitively.

"Sonya, Lucy, go with them."

"Right," Lucy said before she took hold of Sonya's arm and led her up the stairs. Rose handed Lexi off to Sonya before she descended the stairs to stand beside her brother.

"Natsu, Laxus can knock you out in one blow, and I can create an illusion that has Erza pissing herself, she gets so scared. If your Pack really is a Pack like you've claimed it is-"

"The word is Nest! Get it right!" Natsu snapped.

"Whatever!" Rose snapped right back.

"Let's go Rose," Laxus said as he started moving up the stairs. Natsu snarled after them before running to the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey Laxus! We're not done, so get back here!"

"No, we are done," Laxus said as he turned back to the other Dragon Slayer. "I made my decision as the Fourth Master. Your team is dissolved and you're going to stay away from Lucy until you learn how to show her the respect she's due."

"In that case, we'll need to get my key from him," Lucy said, earning her a look from those around her.

"What are you talking about Cosplayer?" Bickslow asked as he picked Lexi up and set her on his shoulders.

"Apparently, Mirajane gave him a key to my apartment without my permission!" Lucy stated, glaring at the pink-haired Slayer.

"We're your team!"

"You were my team!" Lucy corrected. "I told you I was done! Now leave me alone Dragneel!" Natsu's jaw dropped and Laxus led his team and family away from the stairs. After a few steps, Lucy visibly relaxed and let out a shaky breath. Sonya wrapped an arm around her in concern.

"You okay?"

"Yea. Hopefully that got through his thick skull," the blonde Celestial Wizard said as she leaned against the caramel-haired one.

"I doubt it," Laxus said. "Natsu only understands winning and losing. And he hates losing. He's gonna keep doing what he's doing until he gets what he wants, the brat."

"I'm sorry."

"Lucy, don't you dare start apologizing for that prick," Rose snapped. "He's making his choice and you're making yours. If he can't accept that, then that's his problem, not yours. You're Laxus' Mate, so of course his family is going to protect you too. Just as we would for Sonya or Lexi, okay?" Lucy smiled at the scarlet-tipped blonde who gave her a one-armed hug as they entered the ballroom.

"Yay! Party time!" Lexi cheered as Bickslow set her down.

"May I have this dance?" he asked the child, who giggled and placed her hand in his. Rose let out a chuckle as Bickslow led Lexi out onto the dancefloor and the two started dancing. Sonya led Lucy over to a chair as Freed headed to the food table and Evergreen began talking with Lisanna in a corner, leaving the two Dreyar siblings to themselves.

"Aren't they adorable?" she asked, gesturing to Bickslow and Lexi.

"Look Rose, I trust your judgement on who you let get close to you. But I'm a little concerned about how quickly you seem to be warming up with Bickslow around Lexi considering Lahar. And what about Erik?" Rose smiled at her brother.

"Three things. First, Bickslow's not Lahar. Second, let me worry about Erik if he ever comes back. Third, Demon's glaring at your back." Laxus snapped around to see Mirajane was indeed staring at him.

"I'll be right back," he said as he headed towards the white-haired woman.

"Give 'er hell!" Rose encouraged with a small fist pump into the air. Mirajane stiffened when she realized the blonde Dragon Slayer was headed for her. Laxus grabbed her arm and pulled her along into another hall. He didn't want to ruin everyone else's night with this drama, but Mirajane needed to answer for what Natsu had unveiled. He didn't notice Sonya and Lucy watch him drag Mirajane away from the party.

"Laxus! Get…off me!" Mirajane growled as she pulled at his thick fingers. The hulking blonde snarled as he yanked her around a corner before whirling to face her.

"What the hell Mirajane?" he hissed.

"What?"

"Lucy just found out that you gave Natsu a key to her apartment. Want to explain that?" Mira's eyes narrowed.

"They're teammates Laxus, or at least they were. Until you had to ruin everything!"

"What?"

"Yes! Lucy said that Natsu broke her out of a charm spell! I looked it up and charm spells can only be broken by the one that someone is destined to love appearing! You and Sonya are trying to get in fate's way and I won't let you get away with it."

"Mira, Lucy told me that story as well. Charm spells are as powerful as their Casters and Bora the Prominence can't hold a candle to Lucy."

"Well...Besides there's more reasons aside from just that."

"And those are?" Laxus asked, already knowing he was going to lose brain cells with this argument.

"Pink-haired, brown-eyed babies! Or blonde-haired, green-eyes babies! Oh so cute!" Laxus resisted the urge to physically strike the woman who was now clasping her hands together near her cheek, staring off in a daydream.

"Mira," he snarled, recapturing the Take-Over Mage's attention. "Listen closely, Lucy was being freaking abused by her team. Considering that when you started modeling you had me help you get restraining orders on five stalkers, I'm appalled that you would ever consider giving someone else's house keys to another without their permission! That shit is freaking dangerous! What if flame-brain had lost the key and it ended up in the hands of some rapist or some insane person?"

"Oh and you don't qualify as either?" Mira snapped back.

"Shut your damn mouth Demon," Laxus snarled into her face. "This is your only warning. If I ever find out that you copied more keys and distributed them without consent, I will personally throw you out of the Guild for endangering other members and then I'll gift wrap you and drop you at the foot of the Magic Counsel. Honestly I ought to be doing that right now. But I know Lucy wouldn't like it." Mira gave him a suspicious look. "Yea, that very same girl who's the victim of Natsu, Erza and Gray and their idiocy, and you were an associate to that shit! I don't get all this Pack stuff Sonya and Natsu keep spewing about, but if it's my job to protect Lucy from being hurt the way she has been, then that's exactly what I'll do. Especially against you and Erza."

"Rather big talk for a coward." Laxus almost snarled as he turned to see the very redhead he'd mentioned standing in the hall, wearing a long purple dress with thin straps over her shoulders and a low cut, a slit up either side to the hip and decorated with red petals. Her hair was pulled up into a bun and she wore white gloves that went up to her biceps.

"Stay out of this Scarlet, it has nothing to do with you," Laxus growled.

"Wrong," Erza said, puffing her chest out. "You are wrongly harassing an innocent girl and that is behavior that I cannot abide, you villainous cretin!"

"And I won't abide this anymore, Erza!" The redhead looked behind her to see Lucy and Sonya coming down the hall as well.

"Ah, Lucy. There is no need to worry for I-"

"Shut the hell up Scarlet," Sonya said as she brushed her fingers over her Keys, the hammer Laxus had seen when they first returned from Tenrou Island appearing in her hand. The caramel-haired girl pulled her arm back and held it there as Lucy walked past Erza and right up to Mirajane. "I know you can probably Requip faster than I can swing, but even then I bet I can do some bone damage to your shoulder or collarbone at the very least." Sonya's eyes narrowed in warning.

"Mirajane, What the hell were you thinking? Giving Natsu a key to my apartment without my permission?" Lucy asked the white-haired woman. Laxus stepped back a little but kept his eyes on Erza. Years of simply observing her in the Guild told him that if she was provoked enough, she'd even get violent with Lucy if it meant she'd ultimately be in the right.

"Lucy, I never wanted to hurt you. I was just trying to help you."

"Help me? You were the one I complained to the most outside of Levy about what they did to me. And yet I just heard you squealing about me and Natsu having babies! News flash! We have Lexi, Azuka and Erika now! And I came to Fairy Tail to be a Wizard not a wife! Plus if I'd wanted all that without fear of where my next meal would come from, or if I'd have clothes on my back or a roof over my head, I would've never left my father!" the blonde snapped in Mira's face. Mirajane moved to take Lucy's hands only to have the blonde throw the appendages into the air and take two steps back. "Don't! don't touch me like nothing's wrong. I thought of you as my friend and a really good one at that and now I find out this? I thought I could trust you Mira, I looked up to you!"

"Lucy…" The blonde waved a hand, cutting Mira off.

"I don't want to hear your excuses Mirajane. I really want to keep being friends with you, but that has to start with trust. And you just shattered mine in you." Lucy's voice cracked and Laxus stepped forward to wrap an arm around her shoulders.

"Mira, after you get your back-rent to Fairy Hills paid off, you'll be paying to replace Lucy's locks. If Natsu or Erza or Gray manage to break into her house until then and damage anything, you'll be paying for that too. Understand?" Mira glared at him and didn't respond. "I'm asking you as the Fourth Master of Fairy Tail, do you understand the terms I have put forward?" he asked again.

"Yes sir," Mira said curtly. Sonya's hammer vanished and the trio turned and left the hall, headed back to the ballroom. Laxus immediately caught sight of Bickslow and Rose dancing with Lexi being held by Freed as they watched. The green-haired mage smiled as the trio approached.

"Ah, there you three are," he said as he handed Lexi off to her uncle. "Evergreen and Master turned in for the night and I'm going to do the same. Laxus, Master said you two will be meeting with Balsamico about payment in the morning." The blonde nodded.

"Thanks. Good night Freed." Freed bowed his head to Lucy and Sonya as they said their good byes.

"Mommy looks happy," Lexi commented as Freed departed. Laxus looked over at his sister. She wasn't dressed up at all. Her hair was up in a clip, exposing her neck, and she wore red-brown boots, jeans, a black shirt and a brown-gray jacket with a hood. But she was smiling and laughing as Bickslow would purposely trip over his own feet or make up some random, goofy movement all of a sudden.

"Yea squirt, she does."

"Bickslow looks happy too." Lexi covered her mouth and giggled. "They like each other." Laxus' eyes widened in partial horror.

"Lexi where did you learn that?" Lucy asked gently.

"I didn't learn it. I just did it," the seven-year old replied. Laxus, Lucy and Sonya all sighed in partial relief, mostly at the fact that she hadn't learned it from a certain blue Exceed.

 

Laxus sighed as he sat down on the bed in one of Balsamico's many guest rooms. Sonya was already in the bed, curled up on her side. The ivy, holly and pepperberries had been removed from her hair. The nightgown Leona had sent with Virgo was made of buffalo hide and felt soft as butter when Laxus ran a hand over Sonya's braid. Lucy would be coming back from her shower in a few minutes to join them.

Originally, they'd planned to sleep separately, but after the events from earlier, Laxus felt uneasy leaving the girls alone and the feeling had been mutual. Evergreen, Rose and Lexi had even bunked with Freed and Bickslow in the room next door in case something happened.

Laxus made a mental note that tomorrow, after they'd gotten paid, to use Lightning Teleportation to get Sonya and Lucy home at the very least. If the Guild wanted to take the train, they could feel free. But he, for one, was not about to subject Sonya to anymore of this cretin's involvement.

The blonde Dragon Slayer let out a sigh. He'd been to a few Native reservations in his life and had even studied some laws pertaining to them and their rights for his minor. He was fairly certain he could remember a few times when he'd outright seen a Native being abused on their reservation by government officials. But he'd just kept quiet. It wasn't his business. Sonya wasn't a Native, but Draco had learned from Native tribes and had used that as a guide when raising her. Many of her beliefs mirrored Native tribal ones. He certainly wasn't going to be quiet this time around. Sonya didn't deserve to be treated the way she had been that night.

The doorknob turned and Laxus sat up, ready to fight if needed. He relaxed as Lucy came into the room in a little pink nightgown.

"Is she asleep?" she asked.

"Yea. SHe is," Laxus said. The blonde female came over and settled herself against Sonya's back. Lucy let out a little giggle. "What?"

"Nothing. Just...Not too long ago...I was the one who'd been hurt and I was in the middle of you two." Laxus felt a small tug at the corner of his lips as he laid down next to the girls and settled his arm under their heads. Lucy's hair was still slightly damp as she snuggled into his wrist. "Good night."

"Good night," Laxus said as he reached over and turned off the lamp before pulling up the covers over the three of them.

 

A part of Lucy was aware of the fact she was half-asleep, half-awake, seemingly drifting in a state of limbo. She could feel the two pairs of arms around her body and her own arms wrapping around two bodies as well as her legs caught up with two other pairs in a sweaty tangle. But still she seemed to drift between the realm of reality and dreams with no sense of how much time passed.

Flashes of childhood memories passed before her eyes but many were forgotten and gone within seconds. Her mother smiling at her, holding her, and speaking to her stood out among them. Constellations appeared in the moments of darkness between memories. A deep sense of dread filled her belly before a scaly, purple claw swung at her and she surged upwards with a scream.

Sonya was immediately up and holding the blonde gently as she panted for breath.

"It's okay Lucy. Everything's okay," she assured gently as she rubbed up and down Lucy's arm. The blonde rested her head against Sonya's shoulder. "What did you see?"

"I don't know."

"Just tell me what you can," Sonya whispered.

"Um…my mom…stars…and a claw swung at me." The caramel-haired Wizard nodded and ran a hand over Lucy's hair soothingly. The blonde took a deep breath and looked around the room, taking note of the absence of the male they'd fallen asleep with. "Hey, where's Laxus?"

"He's at the meeting with Balsamico and his grandfather. Rose is accompanying him." The girls turned to see Rai laying out over the headboard.

"Morning Rai. Is that comfortable?" Lucy asked.

"Not really. The edges dig." Sonya reached back and picked up the cat before holding him gently to her chest.

"Don't hurt yourself for our sakes Rai," she said tenderly as she ran a hand over his back. Lucy scratched behind his ear and under his chin.

"Laxus wanted me to inform you when you woke up, that he'll be using Lightning Teleportation to bring you two, Rose, Lexi and the Thunder Legion home once he's done with collecting the Guild's pay. If others wish to come along as opposed to taking the train, they may but his priority is you lot."

"Understood," Lucy said. "Hey Rai, I have a question. Do you like eating fish?"

"I enjoy fish every now and again. But I love to eat meat of any kind," Rai answered promptly as he was set down on the comforter.

"We should get dressed," Sonya said as she got out of bed. Lucy pet Rai a few more times before she followed suit. Rai slipped under the comforter to allow the girls some privacy.

 

"You'd better have good reason for waking me at this ungodly hour!" Balsamico squeaked furiously as he sat down on a couch opposite the Dreyar family. Rose looked at her watch with a raised eyebrow.

"It's nine in the morning," she muttered.

"We're here to collect our payment from the work we did last night," Makarov said over his granddaughter. Balsamico's lips puckered.

"And why would I do that?"

"Because we did our job," Laxus snapped. "Not to mention the fact that no damage was done to your property so there's no reason to deduct anything from anyone's pay."

"You think after everything that happened last night I'd give your lowly Guild anything?!" the tiny man screeched, flinging his arms up and down like a child throwing a tantrum.

"My grandfather asked you about people to keep away from Aceto and you said our job was to protect the ring. Velveno is a Wizard of great fame so thus, he would be considered eligible to come to the party," Rose pointed out.

"Then, there's also the fact that one of our Wizards sustained injury from your orders," Laxus added.

"What proof do you have?! Aside from the word of some uncivilized savage!" Laxus shot to his feet instantly, his teeth bared and lightning flying off his arms.

"Call her that one more time. Go right ahead. I'd love to have some lightning-roasted pig for breakfast," he snarled before running his tongue over his elongating fangs.

"Laxus, calm down," Rose said as she stepped forward. "Count Balsamico, as a former member of the Rune Knights, I'm well aware of the kinds of things that are required to press charges. And last night I made sure to collect them. Recordings of confessions and testimonies from the involved servants, who all said you would fire them if they didn't do it, the shreds from Sonya's dress, and even a testimony from Wendy about what she needed to do to heal Sonya's injuries."

"It'll never hold!" Balsamico sneered.

"Are you really willing to take that chance?" Rose asked with a calm shrug. Laxus sat back down and watched as his sister came around the couch. "Here's what will happen right now. You're going to pay our Guild what we're owed. Failure to do so will result in a report to the Magic Counsel. They will not tolerate such actions, especially on such a high payment so you will be dragged to court and all your ugly little secrets will be exposed and you'll be charged double the original pay right off the bat. You could try to drag out the proceedings as long as you want. But let me tell you what will happen. For every month you withhold our payment from us, we are entitled to receive that again. For example, if you withhold payment for three months, our 4,000,000 reward turns into 20,000,000 because those three months includes the extra 4,000,000 you'd have to pay for forcing us to go to court in the first place. You honestly want to pay that much? Because trust me, you will lose if you try."

"Why you….Know your place!" he squealed into Rose's face.

"I know my place. Its right where I am," she said, placing a hand on her brother's shoulder.

"So what'll it be Count?" Makarov asked with a smile. "Are we going to resolve our problems here or shall I contact the Counsel?"

"The Counsel is meant to protect us non-Magic Users from you cretins!" the Count screeched.

"Correction. The Counsel exists to protect everyone. Now, there are more cases of Magic Users harming Non-Magic Users but there are examples of Non-Magic Users like you who've harmed Magic Users like Miss Vern last night. At worst, they died in prison. At best, they were given the same punishment you would be should you refuse to pay us here; A massive fine to pay," Rose reported. Balsamico's face began turning red and the doors opened, revealing Aceto in a long pale-pink nightgown.

"Father that is enough!" she yelled. Her hair was still somewhat tangled from sleep and her makeup was entirely gone, revealing freckles on her nose and cheeks as well as a couple of acne scars on her chin and forehead. Balsamico whirled around and nearly screamed.

"Aceto! Go and make yourself descent!" he yelled.

"I am fine as I am!" she barked right back before turning to the Wizards. "My apologies for my father's antics. I have already sent for our servants to collect the pay for your Guild, as well as a bonus to compensate for my father's transgressions against Miss Vern. If you still feel the need to go to court, please do so. No one should ever be treated the way Miss Vern was last night. I would also like to invite your Guild to stay for breakfast."

"Thank you Miss Aceto and congratulations on your engagement," Rose said with a smile, to which Aceto blushed.

"No, I should honestly be thanking you and your Guild, especially Miss Vern for standing up to my father. I've never seen anyone do what she did before," the newly engaged woman said with a smile.

"And we'd be honored to join you for breakfast," Makarov said with a slight blush. Aceto nodded.

"In that case, I'll go inform the staff to prepare for them in the dining room. If you'll return to your rooms, a servant will come collect you when breakfast is ready."

"Thank you Aceto," Laxus said as he stood up and slung an arm around his sister's shoulders before leading her out the doors with Makarov behind them.

"Aceto!" Balsamico squeaked in his shrill voice. Laxus looked back to see the Count's daughter closing the doors to the drawing room with a scowl.

"That kid's got my respect," Rose said, earning her brother's attention.

"So tell me sis, how did you get all that evidence?" The scarlet-tipped blonde smirked.

"As a mother, I'm used to sleepless nights. So what's one more? You can also thank your Exceed for some of the evidence. After you, Lucy and Sonya returned to the party, Warren told us what happened telepathically. Rai volunteered to find Sonya's dress for evidence as well as find the ones responsible so I could interrogate them after the party, which I did."

"But you don't have the authority," Laxus pointed out. Rose smiled and shrugged.

"I merely did the digging that the Guild's Third Master wanted, isn't that right Gramps?" The two siblings looked over at their grandfather as he sniffed and wiped at teary eyes.

"Yes indeed. I couldn't stand hearing that one of my children had been harmed and disrespected in such a manner! Oh Rosie you do this old man proud!" he cried. Rose chuckled.

"Let's get back to our family. I don't know about you guys but that breakfast sounds promising."

 

Laxus knocked on the door to the room where he'd left Lucy, Sonya and Rai that morning.

"Come in!" Sonya called form the other side and he opened the door. Lucy and Sonya were both seated on the bed with Rai curled up on the pillows watching as Sonya braided Lucy's long hair. Lucy was dressed in a pair of black tights leading up to a black mini skirt and a pink sweater. Sonya was dressed in a blue sweater with jeans and hiking boots.

"Good morning Laxus. How did the meeting go?" Lucy asked.

"Fine," he grunted. "Balsamico tried weaseling his way out of paying us, but Rose and Aceto put a stop to that pretty darned quick. And Aceto invited us to breakfast and added a bonus to our pay for what happened last night."

"Are you serious?" Lucy asked, elated.

"Yep. She seemed fairly impressed that Sonya stood up to the Count last night. Apparently, not too many people have done that before." Sonya let out a little sigh.

"That actually seems kinda sad if you ask me," she said solemnly as she finished Lucy's braid. "It means enough people were intimidated by that tiny man's money and so much so at that, that he could do whatever he wanted."

"That's just how our world works these days," Laxus said with a shrug.

"And this world works like shit," Sonya replied flatly. "Unless you wish to disagree."

"Nope. I agree. The world is shit. But it's the choice of those who live there to change that," the blonde male replied. Sonya shot him a glare from the corner of her eye before she moved to leave the bed.

"That's what I've been doing since I was 12. Don't try telling me the evils this world faces every day, even if Zeref and Acnologia didn't exist," she said calmly. A knock sounded on the door and Laxus opened it, revealing a young maid.

"Good morning sir and misses. I'm here to inform you that breakfast is served," she said with a bow.

"Thanks. We'll be there in a second." Laxus shut the door and the maid continued on down the line of doors to inform the other members.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: That...was rough. My point: if you see something, do something about it! Our world is turning into a dark place people! Don't close your eyes to it!   
> Leave a comment, bookmark or kudos. Later!


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pack faces more troubles at home and goes on their first date.

Lucy woke up and stretched, a smile coming to her face as she slipped out of her bed and went about her apartment, preparing for the day. After two long weeks of going through paperwork, today was going to be the last day she, Sonya and Laxus spent in the confines of the office and it was simply to run the numbers on how much was still owed to Twilight Ogre.

The blonde couldn't help but hum to herself a little as she prepared some eggs for her breakfast and sliced up some strawberries to go with it.

The first ten days of her diet had been rather grueling. Sonya had been supportive of her and Laxus and even went through the diet with them. But both blondes experienced a slight increase in how hungry they felt which caused some irritability. After that though, emotions calmed, energy began increasing and it seemed like they plowed through the work even faster than before. Even when Laxus would go on a job with Rose or the Thunder Legion or Sonya would go on one with Laki or Max, the work was easy-going and smooth as glass.

As Lucy sat down at her table, she found herself even more excited when she thought of her Mates. The three of them had had several meals at her apartment and Laxus' house and were even planning on going out for dinner at 8 Island to celebrate the completion of the paperwork. She and Sonya had spent some "girl time" together over the last two weeks and the blonde could happily say she'd gotten comfortable about the idea of being affectionate with the other female.

In the presence of others, Sonya tended to keep displays of affection to the occasional nuzzle of a cheek and hugs. In the privacy of Lucy's apartment or the early morning in the Guild's office, Sonya's displays would escalate to a kiss on the top of the head or rubbing her nose against Lucy's. Although the more intimate actions had at first surprised the blonde, she found herself enjoying the attention. Once or twice, she'd even returned the affection with a kiss on the cheek, which made Sonya smile.

Then of course, Laxus and Lucy occasionally had their own personal time together. One of their biggest talking points were their two teaching groups or the PE and Academics Classes as they'd come to call them. Laxus had taken a job with Wendy, Evergreen and Gajeel to assess Wendy's physical abilities. Carla had practically lectured their ears off when they returned as she'd been left behind and the job was taking out a pack of Wyverns that were getting too close for comfort to a certain town. Wendy had tried insisting she was fine but Carla wouldn't hear her, not when the girl was covered in cuts from claws, a plethora of bruises and a bump or two on the head.

After that, Carla all but tied herself to Wendy, which caused a problem for the Academics Class, as they had to sit Wendy down and have her fill out assessments on history, science, math, reading and writing. Every time they tried, something happened that caused Wendy to restart her testing later on. Carla had tried walking Wendy through some math problems she didn't understand, which was not what they were trying to get accomplished with these tests, Erza had grabbed her more than once to tend to wounded that were coming home from jobs, Natsu and Gray were constantly hurting each other in their daily brawls, and then there was the fact that the twelve-year-old still needed to pay back rent to Fairy Hills, so she had to go on jobs.

When they talked about different things they hoped to teach the girl, Laxus was quick to explain various training regiments he'd thought up for the twelve-year-old. A few things made Lucy speak up about what her father taught her about exercise with women, about how women could not do the same exercises as men. That had caused the male to look purely horrified and for all of a second, Lucy wondered if he was going to faint. That day ended with Lucy being added to the PE Class as a student and Laxus promising he was going to help her get over that kind of thinking or die trying. A part of her had been so relieved. She knew he knew how to control himself, how to hold back if needed but also that pushing her would be a good idea to help her improve. Training with him would also give them some more one-on-one time as Mates. The other part of her was kinda nervous, considering she was pretty darned small in comparison to him and his bulky muscle mass.

Then Sonya and Laxus had their own time together before Lucy arrived at the Guild. Usually, they'd talk about different things the PE Class would be trying to teach Wendy and Lucy. Other times, they'd work on various meditations and mental exercises so that Laxus could try identifying his Lacrima Parent or connecting with his Inner Dragon, although they'd had very little progress with that.

Once Lucy's breakfast was done, she packed herself a lunch of some salad, chicken and meatballs, a red apple, an orange, some steamed carrots from last night's dinner and a couple bottles of water. Once her lunch was ready to go, she went through her morning routine before picking out a peach-colored sweater with rhinestones on the sleeves, a pair of jeans and wool socks before slipping on a pair of knee-high black boots. Despite all the trouble Balsamico's job had caused on New Years Eve, the pay was definitely good. Lucy knew she wouldn't need to take another job for a bit, had restocked her kitchen and she and Sonya had even gone shopping to replace her old, barely-qualifying-as-underwear clothing with new, more modest choices that she honestly loved. There was no way she'd let Team Natsu ruin these clothes.

Lucy grabbed her black leather belt and slipped it on, hanging her Flueve d'etoiles on one side and her Keys on the other before clipping on the star-shaped necklace she'd gotten on Christmas and grabbing her coat. She locked the door on her way out and happily made her way to the Guild Hall.

 

Laxus and Sonya were seated at a table with Rose, Lexi and the Thunder Legion. Evergreen was reading a book, Bickslow was fixing up some damage Pupu had taken on a recent job, and Freed was talking with Sonya as Rose watched her daughter draw and Laxus drank from a mug of coffee while reading the paper.

"Morning!" Lucy cheered as she entered. Sonya got up and came around to hug her fellow Celestial Wizard.

"Good morning Lucy. You're looking fairly chipper this morning." Lucy shrugged.

"Just in a good mood is all." Sonya looped an arm with the blonde and they walked over to sit beside Laxus. "Morning Laxus." The male grunted as he took another sip of coffee. "Interesting story?" she asked, only to receive another grunt.

"Well, while Laxus finishes what he's doing, how about you and I go upstairs and get started?" Sonya asked.

"Sounds good to me," Lucy said as the two stood up and headed up to the office. Laxus watched from the corner of his eyes and listened until he heard the door to the office open and shut before he smirked and set down the empty mug.

"Hey Freed." The green-haired mage turned to his leader expectantly.

"Yes?" The blonde pulled out a sheet of paper covered in Lucy's hand from his newspaper and then passed it to his friend.

"Think you could look this over?" The mage took the page and scanned it quickly.

"Any particular reason?" he asked as Laxus folded up the newspaper and set it on the table.

"Just give me an honest opinion of it when you're done." With that, Laxus headed up the stairs, willingly ignoring the knowing smirk his sister was shooting his way.

 

The minute they opened the box of completed jobs, they knew this was going to be a long day. They'd not only need to consider amounts, but also time the jobs were completed, interest and how much that took off the debt at the time of the job's completion. Lucy grabbed a few blank pieces of paper from the desk, a calculator and some pencils before sitting down next to Sonya.

"Excited for dinner tonight?" Sonya asked.

"Yea. Pretty excited," Lucy replied as they began working. "You ever been to 8 Islands?"

"Once or twice a year for work. For recreation…not really ever."

"Are you serious?!" Lucy cried. Sonya giggled and shrugged.

"I just never got around to it. Plus, I love cooking so I do it whenever I can."

"Still, I can hardly believe that you've barely ever been there," the blonde sighed.

"What's going on?" Laxus asked as he came into the room.

"Apparently, this is gonna be Sonya's first time going to 8 Island for recreational purposes," Lucy reported. Laxus gave the caramel-haired girl a raised eyebrow. He himself had only been there once or twice and that was after they had returned home. He could admit that the food was good, which was why he'd suggested going there once all the paperwork was caught up on, but considering she'd tried taking the Guild's debt herself, he could understand why she wouldn't go to a restaurant too often, but not at all?

"Seriously?" Sonya shrugged.

"Let's focus on getting this done over my eating habits the last seven years please." Laxus sat down and reached for some of the papers as a small cry echoed through the hall. Sonya chuckled and shook her head. "And Erika's awake."

"Want me to get her?" Lucy asked.

"Nah. I got it," Sonya replied as she stood up and left the room. Laxus and Lucy began looking over some of the pages as the Dragon Slayer listened to the crying slowly coming to a stop.

"Geez! An S-class already?!" Lucy cried in surprise before sighing.

"Hm?" The blonde female handed over the sheet in question and Laxus found himself letting out a sigh at the high reward for an S-Class mission. It effectively bit out a small chunk from the debt in the year the job had been taken, which may end up being a large chunk in the long run. "I have the feeling that by the end of the day, Twilight Ogre might owe us."

"Yep," Sonya said as she came back into the room, carrying a papoose on her back. "I wouldn't be surprised by that, considering all the jobs they've taken from us." As she sat down, Sonya gingerly slipped the carrier off her back and set it against her legs so Erika's bright, wide eyes watched them work. Laxus couldn't help a small chuckle. "What?"

"Nothing it's just…she's almost a month old, but I can already feel the start of her Magic Power growing," the S-Class Wizard said. Sonya smiled and reached over to tickle the infant's chin.

"Well, considering who her father was, I wouldn't doubt it. Who knows, maybe she'll become so powerful that she'll become S-Class by 12 and a Wizard Saint at 15," Lucy joked with a shrug.

"You never know," Sonya said with a shrug as the trio settled into their work. A thought struck Laxus as he looked over a delivery job sheet.

"Hey Lucy, has your class had any luck in testing Wendy yet?" he asked.

"None yet. Something always pops up," Lucy sighed. The other blonde nodded.

"Have you considered doing them on a job?" Sonya asked.

"Yea, but there's Carla to worry about," the other Celestial Wizard responded. Laxus couldn't help the smirk that spread over his face.

"Not if Evergreen has a little 'accident'. After all, those shoes she loves so much are hard to walk in." Both girls gave him slack-jawed expressions, although Sonya's soon became a smirk to match his.

"And if the job was time-sensitive, like a delivery on a train that wasn't going to wait up, then Wendy would have no choice but to leave Carla behind," she added.

"And a train ride would allow her time to do her assessments," Laxus finished. Lucy looked between her two Mates and let out a strained chuckle.

"I think you two have spent too much time alone together." Sonya let out a giggle and another shrug.

"Hey, it's probably the best chance you've got," she said. Lucy let out a sigh.

"Yea. I see your point."

"I think I saw one job come in yesterday for a security job on a train. It should be on the desk if you want to check," Laxus said. Lucy quickly headed over and looked through the pages.

"Yea. Looks like it's a gold delivery."

"Gold delivery?" Sonya asked. "I've never heard of a client doing something like that. Don't banks usually have armored magic mobiles for that?"

"Some do, especially the richer ones. But for longer distances, some have been known to use trains instead and then use armored cars in the city the train ends up in," Laxus explained. "Usually it's listed as S-Class kind of stuff because there's bandits that aren't scared of leaping onto a moving train to steal some gold."

"Well, it's not listed as S-Class. But it says the ride should only take about six hours to get there, six hours to get back. Overall, twelve hours where Wendy could take her tests in peace!" Lucy cheered.

"Then go on ahead and inform Mira you'll be taking it. Maybe take Freed and Rose with you as well?"

"Thanks Laxus!" Lucy cheered as she flung her arms around his neck, her sudden hug attack causing him to fall back some. The male let out a slight grunt as one hand came up to steady the buxom blonde and the other one went back to stop the descent.

"No problem," he said, trying to will down the heat rising in his cheeks. Sonya chuckled as Lucy got back up.

"I'm gonna go invite the others and then tell Mira."

"You do that, Lu," Sonya said as the blonde headed for the door. Once the door was shut again, Sonya let out another round of giggles.

"What?"

"I can't help it, you two are just so cute."

 

Lucy let out a little chuckle as she descended the stairs. Wendy was standing near the request board with Carla hovering over her shoulder.

"Hey, Wendy!" the blonde called, catching the attention of the two.

"Oh, Miss Lucy. Good morning," Wendy greeted gently with a slight bow.

"You have to speak up if you want her to hear you, child!" Carla scolded. Lucy smiled sweetly, completely ignoring the white cat as she neared.

"Looking for a job?"

"Yea. Although there's not a whole lot that'll be too helpful," Wendy said with a slight giggle.

"This is hardly a laughing matter child," Carla snapped. "Even with Balsamico's pay, we still owe over 3 million Jewel to Fairy Hills!"

"Well, actually, I was in the office with Laxus and Sonya and we found this job. It's a simple delivery job. And I was thinking maybe we could invite Rose and Freed to come with us," Lucy said as she handed the flier to Wendy.

"I see. Yea I'd love to go with you!" Wendy said quickly.

"Awesome. We'll meet with the client at the station tomorrow at seven in the morning so don't be late, understood?"

"Yes ma'am," Wendy said affirmatively as she handed the page back. Lucy headed over to the table the Thunder Legion was seated at as Wendy began walking around the Guild, talking with other members and ignoring Carla's scolding about taking others on such a simple job.

"Hey Lu, you doing alright?" Rose asked as she neared.

"Yea, everything's fine. I just have a quick question for you, Rose and Freed." The green-haired Mage looked up from what he was reading at the mention of his name.

"Yes Lucy?" he asked.

"Well, Wendy and I are going on this job tomorrow. I was wondering if you two would like to join us."

"Just us and Wendy?" Rose asked.

"Well…" Lucy looked around and was pleased to find Carla on the opposite side of the Guild, well out of earshot. "Laxus was hoping Evergreen could help us with that." The brunette smirked and opened her fan.

"Of course. Staging a little accident like that is nothing for someone such as myself," she boasted.

"In that case, yea, I'm in," Rose said with a raised hand.

"I shall accompany you as well," Freed said with a nod.

"Awesome. I'll go let Mira know," Lucy said as she headed for the bar. Mira watched her with a smile.

"Hey Lucy, what can I do for you?"

"Please put Freed, Rose, Wendy and I down for this job," Lucy said as she set the flier on the bar. Mira grabbed Lucy's wrist before she could pull her hand away.

"Lucy, surely you understand what I'm trying to say, right?" Lucy scowled at the white-haired Mage. "Laxus isn't someone you can trust the way you have been. He uses women, Lucy. The minute he gets you in his bed and he's had his fun, that'll be it. I'm trying to protect you. Just like how Erza, Gray and Natsu are trying to protect you!" Lucy pulled her hand away, only for Mira to grip tighter.

"Laxus has changed Mira! He's proven himself plenty of times to me and Sonya and that's what's important! Now let go of me!" Lucy began pulling at Mira's fingers,

"Lucy, he's surrounding you with people who sing his praises. Sonya too. Think about it, Freed and Rose are going with you on this job tomorrow! When was the last time you went on a job without them?"

"When was the last time Natsu, Gray or Erza left me alone while I was in the Guild?!" Lucy snapped right back. "For the last two weeks, every time I come down here, Natsu will try taking me on a job with him against my will, Erza will try scaring me into going on one with her, or Gray will come up and start trying to convince me on going on one with him. Juvia is downright sold on the idea of me trying to seduce him when I have no interest at all in him like that! I'm almost terrified that she's actually going to hurt me because of it! Now get off me Mira!"

"You heard her, Demon, get off." Lucy let a slight sigh as Laxus approached with Sonya flanking him. Mira glared at him.

"Mirajane, don't make this escalate further," Sonya said as she neared. "Just let go of Lucy."

"No! I am putting my foot down!" Mira snapped as she vaulted herself over the bar top and put herself between the two Dragon Slayers and Lucy. Sonya's eyes widened slightly.

"Mira, don't," Sonya advised.

"If it means protecting my friend, I'd stand between them and an army if I had to," Mira snapped.

"Mirajane. Let me tell you this, as a word of caution," Sonya snarled. "You're not facing an army. You're facing two Dragon Slayers who're fighting for their Mate. And that should scare you far more than any army."

"She will not fight alone!" The entire Guild turned to see Erza standing in the doorway, hands on her hips. "I shall face you as well! And if Mira and I win, then you two shall give up your claim on Lucy!"

"We are not fighting about this!" Sonya snapped. "Lucy is not a piece of property! She is a person who can speak for herself! So why don't we listen to her, everyone?!"

"I want Mira to let go of my arm right now!" Mira looked at the blonde as if hurt but Lucy pulled her arm free of the bar maid's hand.

"Honestly Mira," Laxus sighed, exhasperated as Lucy went over to Sonya, allowing the caramel-haired girl to wrap her arms around her. "I've put up with Erza wanting to control Lucy and demanding I let her out of the office when she's there of her own volition and now I've got to deal with it from you?"

"Of her own volition? Interesting how you say that yet you were the one to put up runes around the office that keep everyone else out!" Mira snapped.

"So long as they are not invited into the office by the Master, or their intention is to take Lucy away should she decide she doesn't want to stay in the office with us. So long as she wants to stay, anyone who has the idea of taking her out of the office will not be able to enter," the male clarified.

"Yet your runes have been misleading before!" Erza snapped. "During Fantasia, no one over the age of 80 could get past the barrier, yet it contained Gajeel and Natsu while they are not over 80!"

"I don't know what happened there! Maybe it's something with Dragon Slayer Magic! I teleported out of the Guild before the Runes were activated so maybe it would've held me in there too! I don't know!"

"Draco never informed me of anything like that. He mentioned that Dragon Slayers are supposed to mature faster and live longer, while remaining in their prime longer than normal humans. Mates gain similar characteristics," Sonya informed. "But Dragon juveniles take about 70-80 years to go from eggs to maturity so…maybe that has an effect." Erza opened and closed her mouth a few times like a fish.

"Still Laxus, you've been known as a player even worse than Loke! At least Loke was upfront and honest with the girls he slept with that there would be more than one and that he might not stick around long! You wouldn't inform them of anything! I've lost count of the number of times I've been saddled with having to inform your little conquests that you're off with another one! Heck, for all we know, you've got some other floosy in your bed right now!" Mira objected. Laxus glared at the white-haired Mage.

"Funny how you say that, Mira, when you're the one who is most famous for appearing in Sorcerer Weekly in basically your underwear," Sonya snapped. Mira's jaw dropped but the caramel-haired Wizard held up a hand and walked over to the bar, where an issue of the magazine lay. She opened it to the centerfold and held it up. "Tell me this Mira, what's so different here in comparison to wearing underwear? It looks pretty fricking similar to me." With that, Sonya dropped the magazine in front of Mira's feet before wrapping an arm around Lucy and leading her to the table where the Thunder Legion was seated. Laxus remained where he was and shot a glare at Mira and Erza before following the two Celestial Wizards.

"Can they get any more pathetic?" Rose muttered as her brother neared. Sonya shook her head.

"No idea," the caramel-haired Wizard hissed.

"By the way, Sonya, Laxus, since I'm going on the job with Lucy tomorrow, can you two take care of Lexi while I'm away?" the scarlet-tipped blonde asked.

"Sure! We can do that!" Sonya said.

"Yay!" Lexi cheered as the caramel-haired Wizard hugged her. Laxus stiffened slightly. Sure, he loved his niece but every time he'd been with her, his sister had always been within earshot of shouting distance if he needed anything. Sure, Sonya would be there, and while a part of him was thankful for her presence, a part of him also dreaded it. This was one of his Mates seeing how he handled being with kids he was related to. Heck, he'd had almost a month living in Magnolia again to do something in his house to prepare for having a kid around, but didn't even have a soft toy in the guest room his niece might like.

Sonya glanced over her shoulder and smirked, a wave of assurance sweeping through the link from her end.

"Well, we should probably get back to work," Sonya said as she let go of Lexi. "How about we meet up tomorrow at the train station so Laxus and I can take Lexi from Rose then we go our separate ways?"

"Sounds good to me," Rose said.

"And to me as well. By the way Laxus, is there any more of where this came from?" Freed asked, handing over the page.

"You liked it?" Laxus asked with a slight smirk. Freed nearly glared at the male.

"Liked it? One could hardly call oneself a 'fan of literature' and not see the great potential this writer has! The wording and grammar were perfect and I honestly felt as though I was there myself, seeing the scene coming to life before my eyes!"

"I gotta agree," Rose said. "I read over Freed's shoulder and if that's a published work, I'm buying it right now." Laxus's smirk widened as he handed the page to Lucy. She looked it over and immediately went red in the face.

"Are you serious?! Did you snatch this off my desk Laxus?!" she snapped. Freed and Rose's eyes went wide.

"You wrote that?" the scarlet-tipped blonde asked. Lucy hid part of her face behind the page and nodded slowly.

"Then why are you embarrassed?" Freed asked gently.

"Because I'm a horrible writer! Honestly, I can't believe you guys actually read this!" Lucy mewled as she hid her face behind the page entirely.

"Who the hell told you that?" Rose demanded. "Because honestly, that was brilliant!"

"Natsu and Happy…" The table went silent and Lucy peeked over the top of the page. Rose and Freed were staring at each other with dropped jaws and wide eyes.

"Fuck…them," Rose said slowly. Freed nodded.

"My thoughts exactly. Natsu and Happy can barely read their own job requests."

"Not to mention their fat heads are so far up their own asses I'm surprised they can see anything at all," Rose snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Lucy blinked a few times.

"Did Laxus put you guys up to this?"

"No. He handed me the page this morning and asked for my opinion. He never even mentioned who wrote it," Freed reported.

"And you really liked it?" she asked, lowering the page some. Both nodded. "Well…This isn't a part of my story but…I am working on a novel. If you guys want, I could bring it tomorrow on our job."

"I'd personally love that," Rose said.

"I as well." Lucy smiled at the two before heading up the stairs.

"See you guys later," Sonya said as she and Laxus followed the blonde female to the office. Lucy sat down near where the trio had been working earlier, still staring at the page when her Mates entered the room.

"Lucy?" Laxus asked. The blonde glared at him.

"I'm a little miffed you snatched my writing from my desk without my permission and had others read it. But I understand why you did it. Just don't do it again, okay?"

"Don't listen to Natsu and Happy about your writing and accept the fact that you're a good writer, and you won't have to worry about it happening again," Laxus replied as he sat down and began working again.

"Fine, I can do that," Lucy said as she began looking over the jobs again. "But…thanks for doing it. Although it was a little embarrassing, I know you had good intentions for it."

"You two are so cute," Sonya cooed as she slipped the papoose off her back and sat down.

 

The trio continued working until the jobs were done. Laxus was pleased that the Guild was debt-free and that Twilight Ogre actually owed them some money. It wasn't a lot, but it was at least a little bit in Fairy Tail's pocket. Knowing Natsu, Gray and Erza, they'd need it to cover the costs of repairs.

Once they'd cleaned up their work and final totals, the trio headed to 8 Island for dinner. The establishment was bustling with other patrons. When the three sat down, a few people gave curious looks to the table. Yajima himself came out of the kitchen and gave hugs to the girls and a warm handshake to Laxus and even told them to order dessert on the house before heading back to work.

Everything was going extremely well, until the waitress came over and set a beer in front of Laxus.

"I didn't order this," he said.

"Yes sir. It's from the lady at the bar," the waitress said. Laxus turned and caught sight of a brunette woman with hazel-colored eyes dressed in a deep purple dress with a short skirt and a plunging neckline. Laxus rolled his eyes and pushed the drink away.

"And you can tell her I'm not interested," he said. The waitress took the beer back to the woman but after a few moments slowly came back with it on her tray.

"I'm sorry sir she was insistent."

"No need for a good beer to go to waste," Lucy said as she grabbed the bottle. Laxus opened his mouth to speak but the words died in his throat as a dark aura seemed to appear around Lucy. A chill ran down Laxus' spine that almost had him choking on his own spit. "Can you go get our check please?" the blonde female asked sweetly. The waitress hurried off to do as asked. "Who is that woman?" she asked.

"I don't know. Abby or Bailey or something like that. She was a hooker I slept with once," Laxus said quickly. He gripped the cushion of the booth as Lucy's aura seemed to darken further.

"Thank you," she said as she stood up and hid the bottle behind her leg as she looked as though she was headed to the restroom just past the bar. The brunette who'd sent the beer was now chatting with someone else, her back turned as Lucy neared.

"Oh, Lucy's about to go Beta-mode," Sonya said, partially nervous, partially excited. The blonde twisted off the cap before pouring the drink on the woman's head. The brunette turned, glaring at Lucy as the beer dripped onto her dress and the floor. Lucy set the empty bottle on the bar and smiled sweetly at the woman.

"He said he wasn't interested. Get a clue," she snapped. Sonya covered her mouth as a giggle shook her shoulders. Laxus smirked as Lucy came back to the table and sat down again as the waitress handed over the check.

"You bitch!" the brunette screeched. Laxus quickly placed a few bills on the check and handed it to their waitress.

"Keep the change. Let's go," he said. The girls grabbed their jackets and Laxus pulled his coat on before they left the restaurant. Once outside, Laxus let out a chuckle. "Good work Lucy." The blonde covered her face as her skin turned red as a tomato.

"I can't believe I honestly did that!" she squealed. Sonya giggled.

"That was just your Beta tendencies coming out," she said. "I'm not surprised by it. Honestly, I wanted to do that too."

"Get back here you little tramp!" The trio turned to see the brunette woman heading right towards them, beer still dripping off her hair and smearing her makeup over her face.

"You need a mirror for that little tidbit?" Sonya snapped as the woman neared.

"Shut up! I don't know what corner you floozies came from but I am-"

"A whore and that's it," Laxus said, putting himself between the women. Almost immediately the woman placed one arm under her breasts to squeeze them together and began playing with a lock of drenched hair.

"Oh come now darling," she said in a flirtatious tone. Laxus could feel Lucy's dark aura at his back and glared. "You know I've got plenty of perks these two ain't got."

"That's probably true. But considering he's been with us for almost a month but hasn't had sex with us yet…" Sonya said with a shrug, earning a glare from Lucy and the woman.

"What's your name again?" he asked. The woman giggled.

"It's Trixie, Laxus dear."

"Right Trixie. Look, I already said I'm not interested. Don't get me wrong, had you approached me before Fantasia several years ago, I probably would've said yes. But I'm not that guy anymore. So get lost." The woman took a step closer, raised a hand and opened her mouth to speak. "Put a hand on me, and you'll wake up in the hospital next month." Trixie pulled her hand away as Lucy stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Laxus'.

"Look. I'm sorry for what I did in the restaurant. But at the same time, I'm really not. He's on a date with Sonya and I. And you're being disrespectful to the both of us. Be thankful that I was the one who got ticked off enough to react and not Sonya, as I'm sure she'd kick your ass up and down the street with ease. Now good night." Laxus quickly turned and wrapped his other arm around Sonya's shoulders to lead them down the street.

"Thanks for that," Laxus said.

"Well, aside from that little hiccup, I think dinner went spectacularly!" Sonya declared.

"I agree," Lucy said. Laxus couldn't help another chuckle. The trio walked to Lucy's apartment, the girls enjoying some small talk. Laxus was honestly surprised as Lucy's cheerful demeanor nearly chased away the entire memory of her dark aura in the restaurant. He'd heard a time or two some of their fellow Guild members refer to the blonde as the Light of Fairy Tail. Apparently they'd never seen Lucy like that before.

"Laxus?" The blonde male snapped out of his thinking and looked around a little, realizing they were standing outside of Lucy and Rose's apartment.

"Oh I see," he said. Lucy giggled and hugged her Mates.

"Good night guys," she said with a smile before kissing Sonya's cheek.

"Good night Lucy," the caramel-haired Wizard replied, kissing the blonde back. Lucy pulled back and glanced at Laxus. Sonya giggled and moved behind Lucy.

"Hm?" Sonya wrapped her arms around Lucy's middle and lifted her so that Lucy could peck Laxus' scar, a small static zap touching her lips and his cheek, before she was set back on the ground and she hurried into her home.

"Good night!" she called quickly before shutting the door. Sonya chuckled as Laxus looked at the door where Lucy had vanished then to Sonya and back and forth a few times.

"What just happened?" he asked.

"That's called a good night kiss, dear," Sonya said as she wrapped her arms around his. "Shall I walk you home or will you walk me?"

"I'll walk you home," he replied quickly as they turned down the road. Laxus glanced back over his shoulder as Lucy's lights came on. A small chuckle reverberated in his chest as he sensed slight mortification, excitement and pride from Lucy's end of the link.

Laxus reached up and touched the spot she'd kissed, feeling another static zap between his cheek and finger.

 

Lucy slammed the door to her apartment shut and leaned against it as the moment before flashed before her eyes again and again. Her heart was racing in her chest. A tiny part of her was mortified by her behavior that evening. She'd dumped a beer on a woman simply for flirting with Laxus and then had decided to kiss him out of nowhere. A small part of her was proud for what she'd done, which deepened her mortification.

She and Sonya had talked briefly about various Dragon instincts Lucy could develop eventually as a result of being Mates with two Dragon Slayers, including a sense of possessiveness. It didn't make her feel any better though.

The moment in front of her apartment played in her mind again, making her heart start racing again as Laxus' look of surprise burned itself into her memory. Lucy could feel her face heating up as her fingertips brushed her lips.

"I just need a nice hot bath," she said as she shook her head and slipped out of her shoes.

Even after her bath, getting changed into her pajamas and packing a backpack for the next day, Laxus' surprised look kept replaying in her mind and, against her will, her rebellious brain kept going to the what ifs. Like what if she'd kissed his lips instead of his cheek. She had already kissed him on the lips once, although a part of her said that it was more the two of them bumping into each other over an actual kiss.

Lucy shook her head, trying to get rid of the unbidden ideas as she laid down in her bed and pulled her blankets to her chin. The blonde touched the part of her lips again where they'd touched the raised skin of his scar, a tiny static zap making her jump slightly.

She closed her eyes and rolled onto her side to go to sleep, willing her heart rate to slow.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy, Freed, Rose and Wendy go on their job together, while Laxus, Sonya, Evergreen and Bickslow care for Lexi for the day.

Lucy hummed to herself as she made her way to the train station. Her backpack thumped against her back as she moved, the objects inside bumping against each other. Lucy had made sure to pack her manuscript last and in a separate pocket from the rest of her "supplies" for the trip. Her lunchbox was full of delicious food she could share with her Guild mates during the trip, she'd also packed a deck of playing cards, a well-loved and read book, a pen and notebook in case the need to write struck her and a small pillow in case she decided to take a nap. She also had the assessments for Wendy and the answer key she and the rest of the Academics Class had made. If everything went according to plan, the Academics Class should have what they'd need to start Wendy's lessons by that evening at most.

Standing on the platform while workers loaded on crates of gold was a tall gentleman with salt-and-pepper hair in a black suit, clicking away at an abacus. Lucy let out a slight sigh when she didn't see anyone else on the platform. Then again, it was 6:50 in the morning.

"Excuse me, would you be our client?" the blonde asked as she neared.

"No. I am merely a representative of your client's bank. You and your Guild mates will be sitting in the freight car with the cargo to ensure its safety."

"Very well then. Have a good day," With that, the man left the platform, never once having looked up from his abacus.

"You're leaving already?" Lucy called.

"Time is money young lady! And I need to get to work!" he called back. Lucy sighed before looking at the freight car.

"So we're sitting in there, huh? Well, the upside is that Wendy should be able to take her assessments in peace and that's the whole reason we're here to begin with."

"Good morning Miss Lucy." Lucy turned to see Freed nearing, a book tucked under his arm and his sword on his hip.

"Morning Freed. How are you?" Lucy replied as he came up to her.

"Very well, yourself?"

"Doing great! Pretty excited today for whatever reason. Oh!" Lucy slung one arm out of her backpack straps and pulled out her manuscript. "You and Rose wanted to read it right? I promised Levy she'd get to read it first but these parts she's already seen so I figured you two could read it some."

"Thank you," Freed said as he gently took the manuscript and began reading over it.

"So I have a question."

"Yes?"

"Evergreen said she can make an accident happen so Carla can't come with us. But…isn't that kinda…wrong?"

"While the idea of causing an accident to occur is usually frowned upon, I think this time the ends justify the means. Carla needs to leave Wendy be for us to be able to give her these assessments. While I don't know what causes Carla to behave the way she does, I do believe it must come to an end soon," the man said, never taking his eyes off the manuscript, at least as far as Lucy could see. Her eyes were drawn to his right eye, covered by the fringe of green hair. According to Laxus, Freed's eye had been replaced by a demon lacrima. And Sonya had mentioned how lacrimas like those Ivan used on Freed and Laxus required DNA to be formed. So if that was the case, Freed had a demon's DNA in his skull.

"Good morning team!" Rose cheered as she came down the steps to the platform, carrying a sleepy Lexi. The child's head rested on her mother's shoulder and while she was dressed and had her coat and shoes on, her mother had wrapped her up in a red blanket and was carrying a backpack for the child.

"Morning Rose. Hey Lexi," Lucy greeted.

"Good morning ladies," Freed added.

"Morning," Lexi said, rubbing at a sleepy gray eye. "Where's Uncle Laxus and Miss Sonya?"

"They'll be here soon baby," Rose assured.

"Oh, there they are!" a voice called. The group turned to see Wendy coming down the stairs with Carla hovering behind her.

"Morning Wendy, sleep well?" Rose asked.

"Yes, thank you Miss Rose. Good morning Lexi," the blue-haired Dragon Slayer greeted. Lexi waved as she covered a yawn.

"Is this child coming with us as well?" Carla asked as she landed on the floor.

"No. Her uncle and Sonya will be taking her for the day," the mother responded gently.

"Then why not have them pick her up at home? Honestly, it's still winter! She'll catch her death of cold!" the white Exceed scolded. Rose glared.

"I'll mother my child the way I see fit. Aside from that, how old are you again cat?"

"Before Tenrou happened, Carla was six," Wendy spoke up, earning a glare from the Exceed.

"So you're younger than my daughter and you're trying to tell me what I'm doing wrong with raising her? That's beyond rude, cat. I have half a mind to summon my fox to teach you some manners."

"You dare talk to me of manners? You curse like a sailor in front of your child! I've observed her cheering and getting excited when you decide to fight someone! You call that being a descent mother?! I have half a mind to call child services!" Rose's eyes flashed violet for a moment and her hands tightened around her child. Lucy could feel the sparks flying between the two and stepped between them.

"Okay, let's take a deep breath and calm down, okay? No one is calling anything on anyone, alright?"

"Says you," Carla muttered. Lexi cuddled further into her mother's hold with a hiccup.

"Carla," Wendy pressed nervously.

"Something wrong here?" The group turned and Lucy felt a rush of relief upon seeing Laxus, Sonya, Rai and the remaining two members of the Thunder Legion descending the stairs.

"Hey guys!" Lucy cheered as Sonya came over and lifted Lexi from Rose's arms. The child's bottom lip was quivering, and her eyes were wet.

"What's the matter sweetie?" Sonya asked as she settled the child on her hip. Lexi shook her head and hid her face in Sonya's neck. Laxus placed a hand on his niece's back as more hiccups shook her shoulders. Rai let out a noise of concern from his place on Laxus' shoulders. Wendy bit at her lip as Evergreen continued her way slowly down the stairs with Bickslow behind her. Suddenly the brunette pitched forward with a cry.

"Evergreen!" Bickslow cried as he grabbed her arms, making her glasses fly out of place on her nose, teetering dangerously close to falling off entirely. Freed grabbed Rose and Lucy, covering their eyes as Laxus covered Sonya and Wendy's eyes, leaving Carla unprotected from Evergreen's gaze. The cat gasped slightly before she turned to stone.

"Oh no!" Evergreen cried as she righted her glasses. "Safe!" Freed and Laxus removed their hands and Wendy gasped.

"Oh no Carla!"

"I'm so sorry Wendy!" Evergreen said quickly as she hurried over.

"Will Carla be alright?" she asked.

"Of course she will. I can remove the spell. But since I tripped and it was an accident, it will take a little bit of time," the brunette assured. At that moment the train whistle blew.

"Which we don't have," Lucy said. "Wendy, we'll need to leave Carla here with Evergreen, okay?" Wendy nodded sadly.

"I'll come with you," Rai said as he hopped down from Laxus' shoulders. "If that is alright with you all?"

"Of course," Wendy said with a smile.

"Sounds good to me," Rose agreed as Freed nodded.

"In that case, welcome aboard Rai," Lucy said as she picked him up.

"I see the workers appear to be finishing loading the gold," Freed observed. "We should get aboard quickly."

"Right," Lucy agreed. Rose kissed her daughter's head and smiled when the girl turned to look at her.

"Don't worry honey. That cat's not going to do anything to us." With that, she handed the child's backpack to Sonya, who smiled at her.

"See you guys tonight," the caramel-haired Wizard said as she hugged the leaving Wizards.

"Be careful," Laxus said with a nod.

"We will," Lucy called as the group headed towards the train. Bickslow, Evergreen, Laxus, Sonya and Lexi waved as the doors to the freight car shut and the train left a few minutes later.

"So Lexi, what happened to make you so upset?" Sonya asked. The child pulled back enough to glare at the statue, her eyes practically venomous.

"Can we leave her like that?" she hissed.

"For a little bit," Evergreen said. "I can dismiss the spell whenever I want."

"In that case, please never want that spell dismissed. I hate that cat!" Laxus' eyes widened at his niece, as did Sonya's. Bickslow placed a gentle hand on the child's hair, earning himself her attention.

"How about you tell us what happened to make you upset? Then we'll figure out how long to keep her like this?" he asked.

"She was trying to tell Mommy how to be a mommy. But she's only six. Then she said she wants to call child services." Laxus' eyes widened as Evergreen glared at the statue. Sonya wiped at the child's cheeks and hugged her.

"In that case, sweetie, Carla is in the wrong," the caramel-haired woman assured. Laxus sighed.

"Let's bring her to the Guild. Then Evergreen, you and I will talk with her in the office. Sonya, Bickslow, think you can keep Lexi occupied while we talk with the cat?" The woman nodded and pulled the blanket tighter around Lexi as Bickslow smiled at the child.

"Well, let's get moving," Bickslow said as he and Laxus both grabbed one of Carla's paws and lifted the small statue. Sonya let out a little sigh as the males headed up the stairs leaving the platform.

"What's wrong?" Evergreen asked.

"I really can't stand people like Carla." Evergreen nodded.

"Really, the nerve."

 

Lucy smiled as she took a seat. Rai curled up next to her as the blonde began poking through her backpack for the assessments and some pencils for Wendy to use.

"Alright Wendy, here we go," Lucy said as she handed over a history assessment and some pencils. The blue-haired girl headed over to a corner to get started as Freed and Rose took a seat leaning against the wall opposite of Lucy. Rose read Lucy's manuscript over Freed's shoulder as the train began to move.

Just as they pulled out of the station, a low groan sounded through the car and Lucy snapped around towards a corner.

"Hush Natsu, I know Lucy's stupid but if you keep groaning like that, even she's gonna realize something's going on." Lucy growled as Freed set the manuscript down and stood up before heading to the corner with Rai at his heels.

"What do you think you're doing here?" the green-haired Mage demanded, glaring into the corner.

"I really don't think my stomach wants to be inside me right now," Natsu groaned as he crawled towards Freed's boots. The swordsman took a few cautious steps back, having personal experience with motion-sick Dragon Slayers facing him.

"Oh no Natsu!" Wendy cried as she stood up.

"Don't bother Wendy. Remain focused on your assessments and I'll handle him," Freed said as he drew his rapier and began writing runes. Happy stepped out of the corner and looked up curiously at Freed.

"Why not just let Wendy cast a quick Troia spell so Natsu won't be so sick?" he asked.

"Because Natsu has a habit of acting hyper and Wendy needs peace and quiet to focus," the green-haired Wizard snapped as he worked. Natsu groaned again as Wendy came over and handed Lucy the history assessment.

"Are you done Wendy?" the blonde asked.

"Yea. I'm sorry. I don't know too much about history," the child said quietly.

"It's fine, don't worry. Let's get the next one, alright?" Lucy quickly pulled out the math assessment and handed it to Wendy. Happy walked over as Wendy went back to her spot and began the test.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Wendy's taking some tests," Rose explained as Lucy grabbed a pen and began looking over the questions Wendy had answered.

"But then why is Lucy keeping them when she's done?" The blonde glared at the cat.

"What do you mean by that?" she asked.

"Well shouldn't someone like Freed keep the tests when she's done? Considering how smart he is and how dumb you are."

"Watch it cat!" Rose snapped. "We've already had to deal with Carla's bullshit at the station. I won't put up with yours!"

"Oh yea. Where is Carla? She's always near Wendy," the blue Exceed asked as he looked around. Rai rushed over and stood in front of the younger male.

"She's not here cat," Lucy snapped before making Happy sit down. "Now sit down and be quiet, Wendy is trying to concentrate."

"I guess," he said as he began gnawing on the head of a fish. Rai's nose wrinkled at the smell before he went over to Lucy's other side.

"There we go, that should be enough for now," Freed said as he sheathed his rapier and sat back down next to Rose. Purple runes surrounded Natsu, silencing the groaning and lessening the green tint to his color slightly. But when Natsu tried crawling out of the runes, the purple edge glowed brightly and he couldn't pass through.

"So I'm guessing those will keep him in place and keep him quiet?" Lucy asked.

"Indeed they will," Freed said as he picked up the manuscript again.

"Why not just teleport him back to the Guild?" Rose asked.

"Well, as the train is in motion, I am unable to. While my Rune Magic allows for me to create rules within a certain area to the conditions I desire, I am not all-powerful. Runes themselves have various rules I have to follow in order to use them to the highest level of efficiency. Runes that allow for teleportation of another person require the area around them to be stationary. In essence, the runes allowing for teleportation anchor themselves to the ground in the area the subject is being teleported from and the area the subject is being teleported to. A train or magic mobile would not allow for the writing of such runes to be written quickly enough as they'd anchor themselves to the ground, not to the floor. Does that make sense?" he asked.

"Yea. Seems pretty clear to me," Lucy said. "Basically, the runes attach to the earth itself, so things like a train where we're moving faster than you can write, won't allow you to finish writing the spell."

"Exactly," Freed said with a nod.

"Could you have fit anymore words in that explanation?" Happy groaned, his mouth full of fish. Rai shot a look of pure disbelief in his direction and shook his head.

 

Carla teetered on her feet when Evergreen lifted the spell. But instead of the train station she expected to see, she found herself in the Guild's office, staring at Laxus in the chair behind the desk with Evergreen flanking him. The Exceed herself was on top of a stack of papers on the desk.

"What? Where are we?! Where's Wendy?" Carla demanded, looking around frantically.

"Wendy is on her job. You're in the Guild's office. I have runes around the office that won't allow you to leave until we've finished our talk so don't try running away," Laxus explained, his eyes hard. Carla stood up and put her paws on her hips.

"Me? Run away from the likes of you?! Don't think that with that scar on your face or your relation to Master Makarov will intimidate me!" Laxus' eyes narrowed.

"Carla, I'm not trying to intimidate you. But we need to talk now. Because this has gone on long enough."

"What has?" she demanded.

"Your treatment of Wendy, and then how you spoke to Rose this morning," Evergreen informed.

"What of it?! Wendy needs me to guide her through life and that is what I'm doing! As for your sister, I pity that daughter of hers. How in the world she'll get by in this day and age is-"

"Carla!" Laxus roared, shooting to his feet. The cat was silent as the male towered over her, lightning sparking off his arms. "Listen here, I don't care what issues you have with Rose! She has not asked you for guidance on how to raise her daughter! From what I've seen Rose has done a pretty damn good job of raising Lexi on her own. You have no right to judge her on any grounds. Then with Wendy, I never heard of Wendy asking you for help in life and then your actions these last couple weeks have been counter what you're saying!"

"How dare you!"

"How dare you," Evergreen snapped, opening her fan. "Wendy can't open her mouth without you glaring at her or scolding her and that's a horrible situation for a child. You have nothing but criticism for that child. I never hear anything of praise from you, and then when you're not outright criticizing her, you're practically calling her useless."

"How Wendy and I live is none of your concerns!" Carla shot back.

"Wrong," Laxus snapped. "Wendy is a member of this Guild, thus a member of this family, as are you. So it is our business."

"That's a laugh coming from-"

"Enough!" Laxus barked, silencing the cat. "Carla, I don't know what your problem is and frankly, I don't give a damn! But let me get this through your skull! Gramps may have tolerated your disrespect towards every-freaking-body, and Wendy might allow it against herself, but I will not tolerate it! Understand? If your disrespect for everyone continues, I'll have you and Wendy separated until you learn some. I really hope it doesn't come to that, as I know it would hurt Wendy too." Carla's jaw dropped.

"You cannot-"

"Do you want to test us?" Evergreen challenged. Carla glowered at the two.

"Anything else you want to say?" Laxus asked. The Exceed remained quiet. "In that case, we're done now." With that, the two members of the Thunder Legion left the room, leaving the door open. Laxus watched Carla leave out of the corner of his eye as Evergreen opened her fan.

"Seriously, how Wendy deals with that cat is beyond me," Evergreen muttered as the two went down the hall to Sonya and Kinana's room. The two girls had stacked their beds on top of each other and twisted the beds so they ran parallel to the far wall, opening up more space. At the foot of the bunk beds was a mint-green crib, a wood changing table next to it and a rocking chair in the corner.

Bickslow had removed his helmet and was leaning one elbow on it on the couch. Lexi had cuddled up to his leg and was sound asleep as the Seith Wizard ran his fingers through her hair. Sonya was smiling at them as she fed Erika.

"Hey there," Sonya said quietly.

"Hey," Evergreen said as she sat down next to Sonya and pulled Lexi into her lap. "So then, what now?" The child squirmed away from Evergreen and cuddled back into Bickslow's leg.

"Well, she's out like a light," he said.

"Good point. Maybe it would be best if we just stay here for a bit," Laxus said.

"I'm good with that," Sonya said, setting Erika on her shoulder to burp. "How about you go get started on that paperwork in the office and I'll come in once I have her down again. Then when Lexi wakes up, we can find something for all of us to do."

"Sounds good to me."

 

Lucy tapped the end of her pen against her bottom lip as she looked over Wendy's math assessment. She hadn't answered every question but the ones she had were all done very well. The answer was written clearly with work shown to the side, just to show how she'd come to her conclusion even if the answers weren't correct, which Lucy thought would definitely help when it came time to teach Wendy. The girl had also finished her history assessment, although with only a handful of questions answered.

The blonde was only half paying attention to what she was looking at, the other half of her attention on Freed and Rose's facial expressions as they read over her manuscript. She couldn't help the nervous feeling in her stomach. The two people her Mate called siblings, one by blood and one by bond, were reading her manuscript. The story she'd spent years working on, hadn't yet finished, and had been criticized on by two people she worked with up until recently. She might have agreed to bring the thing, but now faced with the reality of it, she found herself dreading their final reactions to it.

She was also not trying to make Wendy feel the need to rush on her reading and writing assessment, the final one that would determine how the Academics Class handled her education, so Lucy was glad for the distraction that made her work through Wendy's assessment slower than she normally would be able to.

Lucy's brown eyes flicked over to the child in question, who was laid out on top of a crate, her tongue between her front teeth as she concentrated on her handwriting and making it neat, understandable and tidy. The blonde couldn't help a small smile spreading over her lips at how hard Wendy was working. If she was half as hard-working in her studies as she was right then and there, Lucy had no doubts that she'd easily catch up to her age group as far as her knowledge of history went.

Lucy looked back at the page and circled a part where Wendy had the right idea of what the question entailed but hadn't gotten the right answer. It was an easy mistake to make so a quick lesson to cover the topic might be needed later on to make sure Wendy understood where she went wrong so she wouldn't make the same mistake again.

Her brown eyes flicked over to Natsu, still inside the runes as he whined and groaned about how sick he felt, the barrier silencing his complaints. A part of her felt bad for him, but another part was relieved that Natsu's appearance had only been a hiccup in their day.

"Miss Lucy?" Lucy looked up at the girl as she handed over the assessment. The blonde smiled and took the test.

"Thanks Wendy," she said tenderly. Wendy nodded and headed over to where Natsu was. Freed got up and dismissed the runes and Wendy bent down over Natsu as he groaned loudly.

"Troia," she said quietly. Natsu let out a sigh as his color returned to normal and his urge to vomit lessened…

For a moment.

Once Wendy pulled her hands away, Natsu promptly returned to looking sickly green in the face and vomited. Freed leapt back, pulling Wendy with him.

"Poor Natsu! He…ew!" Happy cried. Rose cringed and Lucy covered her mouth to resist the urge to vomit at the sight herself.

"I don't know why it didn't work, but I'll try again!" Wendy said quickly as she cast the spell again. Freed placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't waste your energy I think I know what's happening," he said. "The spell has been used on him many times when he goes on jobs, correct?" The girl nodded. Rose groaned.

"So basically, his body's developed an immunity to it," the mother explained.

"Whoa! That can actually happen?!" Lucy cried in mock-surprise, although the idea reminded her of why exactly Laxus and Freed used different rune spells when they were traveling.

"It would certainly appear to be the case," Freed said as he got behind Natsu and hauled him to his feet before dragging him towards the door. "I shall return in a moment."

"Want me to get the door for you?" Rose asked.

"No thank you, I can handle it. But thank you for your offer," the Rune Mage said as he kicked open the door and slipped outside to close it again. The swordsman draped Natsu over the guardrail so he'd be able to puke if he had to without disgusting anyone.

"Freed…" the pink-haired boy growled as the man in question wrote out some runes to keep Natsu in place so he wouldn't fall off the car.

"What is it Natsu?"

"You gotta…know that…I won't let Laxus…win. Lucy's a part…of my Nest! That Sonya girl…she's not right…" Freed sighed.

"Natsu, perhaps you should take into consideration that perhaps you were misinformed. It is obvious that there's some form of miscommunication going on. I'm certain that if you were to speak with Sonya, the two of you could come to some form of understanding."

"No way…Don't you think it's weird…how she…convinced Lucy…and Laxus…so fast?" Natsu managed before he bent over and threw up again. Freed sighed and shook his head.

"She convinced them it was the truth because she's telling the truth. She's a Celestial Wizard Natsu, just like Miss Lucy, and therefore is bound by the same rules. If Miss Lucy is unable to lie without risk to her contracts, then the same holds true for Sonya," he said sternly before turning towards the door.

"I don't get it man…The way you went on…and on forever…about Laxus all the time…I thought you two were…together. Aren't you worried about him at all?" Freed turned back, his right eye becoming visible for all of a second.

"Believe me Natsu, I do care about Laxus, and yes I love him but not as a lover! At most, I care for him as I would a brother. In years past, perhaps I did once hope that we would be more, but Laxus made it clear that he was not interested in me in that form. So I respected his wishes even though it was not what I wanted. Perhaps you should learn to do the same. As the years passed, I eventually came to realize that the love I hold for Laxus is not romantic! He is my family! More so than Bickslow and Evergreen, although I treasure them just as much!" With that the Rune mage re-entered the freight car and shut the door.

"You okay?" Rose asked. Freed looked back at the girls, who were giving him wide-eyed expressions.

"Yes. I am fine, thank you," he said with a sigh before he sat down again. Lucy bit on her bottom lip and Freed saw her eyes flicking around the room to look anywhere but at him. "I take it you all heard what I said to Natsu?"

"Yea, you were kinda yelling out there," Rose said. Freed's face went red.

"I see. Well…My apologies for that."

"No, no need to apologize. I'm actually glad that I heard that," Lucy said. "I knew you and Laxus were close but I didn't know how you felt about this whole Pack situation. And I didn't know how to bring it up even when we were alone. So I guess we can kinda thank Natsu for causing that little bit." Freed straightened up and took a calming breath.

"Miss Lucy, if you or Sonya wish to discuss anything with me or any member of the Thunder Legion, feel free to ask. You two are important to Laxus and if there's anything we can do to make this transition more comfortable for the three of you, we'd love to help however we can."

"Thank you, I'll be sure to tell Sonya that," Lucy said with a nod. Freed picked the manuscript back up and he and Rose began reading again. Lucy summoned Plue and pulled her pillow from her backpack. She wasn't tired per say but considering nothing was happening, it couldn't hurt to try.

 

Outside the freight car, a trio of men dressed in full-body, black, rubber unitards were glaring at the car and at Natsu as he threw up. Of the three, one was practically skin and bones with lots of brown hair, the second had extremely thick eyebrows and black hair as well as a thin goatee growing in and the final one was large enough to make his body-suit look nearly ready to burst at the seams and on top of his head was a black rubber cap. Aside from their clothes, all three had similar bubble-butts that stretched against the rubber of their body-suits.

"Who is that and what is he doing here?" the black-haired one asked. "The plan hinges on the coast being clear!"

"Sounds like we need to change the plan," the brown-haired one suggested.

"So what're we gonna do about it boss?" The boss crossed his arms over his chest and hummed thoughtfully, stroking his goatee.

"Relax boys. The plan to get the gold is still airtight. This is just a hiccup. We can still squeak out a win," he said with a smirk. "Listen up, I'll simply distract the little stinker, while you two sneak inside the freight car." The two men smirked.

"Solid!" With that, the boss of the trio opened the door and walked out, whistling before patting Natsu on the back.

"Hey buddy, ya feeling okay?" he asked as his lackeys tip-toed past. "You look a little green. Traveling not agreeing with you?" Natsu groaned as he looked over his shoulder at the man.

"Yea. Always makes me sick. Sucks. Thanks for asking though," he said, managing a slight smile. "You know…I think I'm starting to feel a little bit better now. You're a really nice guy." The man's eyes widened.

"I'm a nice guy?"

"Yea totally. Much nicer than my so-called friends in there," Natsu said jabbing his thumb at the door the man's lackeys were peeking into. "They took on this stupid job knowing that I'd be blowing chunks the entire trip."

"Oh? That really does stink bub," he said, gesturing to his lackeys to come away from the door's window. "When you're trying to work together as a group, you hope things will come out smoothly and you definitely don't want any rumblings from those beneath you." Natsu perked up and smiled.

"That's just how I feel, thank you!" He blinked a couple times then tilted his head, somewhat confused as he took in the lackeys' presence beside their leader. "There's more of ya?"

"Oh yea! These two are just my traveling buddies!" the boss said, quickly patting Natsu somewhat harshly on the back. "They heard you weren't feeling very well. They're real nice guys just like me, we could never think about turning our backs on a stranger in need." Natsu's eyes began to tear up.

"For real? There should be more people like-" The pink-haired boy snapped back around and hurled over the side of the guard rail.

"That's it, toss those cookies pal. You'll get your second wind real soon," the boss said, patting Natsu's back again as he and his lackeys smirked.

 

The sound of knocking on the door rang through the car, catching the attention of the Wizards inside.

"Natsu? You feeling better?" Lucy called.

"Maybe the spell didn't work because he'd been riding so long with the runes," Rose suggested as Wendy got up and opened the door, only for her jaw to drop upon seeing the trio of men before her, the boss holding Natsu in his arms.

"Hi there!" the black-haired man cheered with a grin.

"So nice to meet you!" the lackeys added. Wendy was caught between wanting to speak and wanting to gag. These men practically reeked of rotten eggs and rubber.

"Please excuse us for just a moment," the boss said as he walked into the car. Lucy, Rose and Freed stood up.

"Hold it right there! This freight car is for authorized personnel only!" Lucy snapped.

"Oh I see. But we found this poor young man passed out in front of the doorway," the black-haired man said.

"Oh no!" Wendy cried as Natsu was placed on the ground and the other Fairy Tail Wizards surrounded him.

"He passed out?"

"His condition is far worse than we thought," Freed said as he began checking over the pink-haired teen.

"Man this stinks," Rose muttered as she began looking through her bag for her communication lacrima.

"Come on buddy, talk to us," Happy begged. Suddenly, Wendy let out a cry of surprise and pain as the boss grabbed her arm and twisted it behind her back as his lackeys rushed to the doors on the sides of the car and threw them open.

"What in the-" Rose snapped as she, Lucy and Freed stood beside each other, the communication lacrima falling from the scarlet-tipped blonde's hand. Freed placed a hand on the hilt of his sword.

"No funny stuff. Make one move and the little girl gets it!" the boss growled.

"That was an awesome threat boss!" the skinny lackey cheered.

"Like a true scoundrel!" the other praised.

"What's going on here?!" Lucy demanded. "Don't tell me you guys are trying to get your grubby hands on this cargo!"

"Of course we are! And we ain't afraid of no Wizards, 'cause we're as rotten as they come." As if on cue, the trio turned their butts towards the Fairy Tail Wizards.

"They call us the Butt-Jiggle Gang!" the trio cheered, much to the repulsion of the Fairy Tail Wizards.

"Seriously?" Rose asked.

"Revolting," Freed commented.

"Natsu's really not looking so good," Happy observed.

"Shut your pie-hole! Now boys, let's power up!" The boss ordered. The trio began shaking their butts from side to side, muttering under their breath.

"What are you doing now?!" Rose snapped.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Lucy added, holding Plue tighter.

"I'm somewhat afraid of the punchline," Freed commented.

"I'm warning you, you'd better blow or we're gonna!" the boss warned.

"I'm scared guys," Wendy whimpered as she looked at them over her shoulder.

"Wendy, don't worry. It's gonna be okay," Rose assured calmly.

"These cretins wouldn't dare harm you," Freed added.

"Yea, I bet they're just a bunch of old windbags!" Happy concluded.

"Listen up!" the boss barked. "The contents of this car are now the property of the Butt Jiggle Gang! And you kids need to blast on out of here!"

"We're not gonna leave just because you're shaking your butts at us!" Lucy yelled, and the boss smirked at her.

"You're gonna be eating your words girlie," he said as the butt-shaking came to a stop. "Full of beans now! Ready, fire the colon cannon!"

"Gas Butt!" the skinny lackey cried.

"Triple!" the other one shouted.

"Ecstasy!" the boss finished. Lucy, Freed, Rose, Rai and Happy all gasped in partial horror, partial disgust. Suddenly, all three of the rubber-clad men released a massive fart that did indeed kick up a cloud of yellow-tinted dust. The windows of the car, the door leading to the rest of the train and the Wizards the attack was directed at, went flying out of the car.

Lucy looked down and screamed at the sight of the river below them, the pungent stench still making her feel like gagging. It was still in her nose, even when she covered it and pinched it shut. She knew it was sticking to her clothes, and had maybe even burnt her skin.

"Help me!" she screamed as she and the others began to fall.

"Not like this," Happy groaned, covering his nose. Freed pulled out his rapier.

"Dark Ecriture: Wings!" The purple runes pieced the wings together on his back and with a few flaps, he wrapped his arms around Lucy.

"Thanks! You're a life-saver," she cheered as she covered his nose as well.

"Not a problem," he said before his eyes widened. "Wait! Rose!" Both Wizards snapped around to see Rose holding both Exceeds in one arm. Her legs were holding tightly to the bare back of a creature she'd summoned. The front of the creature looked like a golden eagle stretched to the height of a horse. The body of the eagle stretched back for the back half of the body that looked like a horse. The wings were attached to the shoulders of the creature as the big, golden-amber eyes blinked at Lucy and Freed.

"I'm fine guys!" the scarlet-tipped blonde called as the creature gently lowered itself down to the two.

"What of Wendy and Natsu?" Freed asked.

"My guess would be that they're still on the train," the former Rune Knight said. Lucy sighed slightly as the trio landed next to the river, the train having vanished from the tracks above.

"For now, let's focus on trying to get rid of some of this stench and coming up with a plan," she suggested. The other two nodded.

 

Laxus looked around the yard calmly. Bickslow, Evergreen and Lexi were making a snowman while he was watching like a sentry. Evergreen had Erika strapped to her back and Sonya had gone into the small woods nearby to find sticks to make the snowman's arms.

Suddenly, a force slammed into him, grabbing around his shoulders and pulling him down into the snow. Laxus snapped his head around to see Sonya giggling on his back.

"What the hell?" he asked. Sonya giggled again before jabbing her head forward to nip at the tip of his nose then she leapt away from him and landed in a crouch. Laxus rolled over onto his hands and knees. Sonya smirked and lowered her chest, looking somewhat like a dog prepared to play. Laxus pushed himself to his feet and Sonya's smirk grew. The blonde couldn't help but smirk back.

The caramel-haired Dragon Slayer leapt forward, making Laxus leap back before he lunged forward again, grabbing Sonya around the middle and wrestling her onto her back. He could vaguely hear his niece laughing behind him as Sonya nipped his nose again. The Celestial Dragon Slayer wriggled free of his grip and ran off. Laxus could hear his Inner Dragon purr in approval and it clicked in his head what was going on.

Sonya was playing. Predators play-fought in order to practice hunting and fighting techniques to serve them later in life. Dragons were predators so it would make sense that a form of play might involve some wrestling, maybe even playful biting. Sonya had been raised by a Dragon so it would make sense that a means of play for her would be similar to that of a predator.

Laxus chased after his Mate, causing her and his niece to burst into laughter again. He shifted to lightning and shot to a spot right in front of Sonya, making her bump right into him as he reformed, knocking her onto her back. She merely shook her head and leapt at him again, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and somehow maneuvering herself onto his back. The blonde smirked as he laid back into the snow-covered ground, making the girl groan at his weight.

"Okay fine! I give! Off!" she cried after a few seconds. Laxus pushed himself up and Sonya let out a laugh. "For a Slayer raised by humans, you catch onto play pretty darned quick."

"Hey, I might not have been raised by a Dragon, but I know a thing or two about predators," he said as Lexi came over and hugged him.

"Uncle Laxus, can you and I play like that?"

"That was play more meant for Dragon Slayers sweetie," Sonya said as she sat up. "Maybe when you're a little older. Or maybe you and Azuka can play like that sometime."

"Aw!" the redhead pouted. Laxus smirked and mussed his niece's hair.

"But who knows. You're a Dreyar just like me and your mom. Maybe you have Lightning Magic like me. If that's the case, maybe I can teach you to be a Dragon Slayer," he said. Lexi brightened up immediately.

"Do ya mean it?!" she cheered. Sonya chuckled. "But, what if I only have Magic like my Daddy?"

"Then we'll still see what we can do to train you," Sonya said. "We'll just have to see what kind of Magic you develop. But your mom thinks you already use a kind of telepathy you may have inherited from your father."

"But I don't think I can be a Telepath Dragon Slayer," Lexi pouted. The two Dragon Slayers chuckled.

"You never know," Sonya said.

Suddenly, a flash of panic shot through Laxus' brain and Sonya gasped slightly. The two looked at each other and came to the same conclusion within seconds.

"Lucy," they said at the same time. Both Slayers stood up.

"Lexi, stay with Evergreen and Bickslow," Laxus said as he set his niece down. The child nodded and went back to making her snowman as Laxus and Sonya hurried up into the office. Immediately, Laxus pulled out the communication lacrima and focused on the one he knew his sister always kept around.

The lacrima displayed the inside of the train car and Sonya gasped. Natsu was face-down on the floor, a sort of mist hung in the air, the windows and doors were nothing more than holes at that point, as if some great explosion had sent them flying. Off in the corner were three black-clad figures and Laxus could see the edges of Wendy's dress from that morning.

"Wendy?!" Sonya called. The clothing moved and Laxus felt himself release a sigh of relief as the blue-haired girl slowly made her way over on unsteady legs to the communication lacrima. "Are you okay?"

"Mostly...Just a little woozy," the child admitted.

"What happened?" Laxus asked.

"Natsu snuck on board the train with us. I tried using my Troia spell but it didn't work so Mister Freed put him outside. Then these three guys calling themselves the Butt Jiggle Gang came in saying Natsu passed out and then they hijacked the car...then they farted. The others went flying so I don't know if they're okay or not. But Plue's here with me," she explained, holding up the Celestial Spirit.

"Pun pun!" he said. Laxus nodded.

"Okay. Um...Any S-Class advice?" Sonya asked.

"Well, for right now, just hang tight while we figure some stuff out..." Laxus got up and started pacing the length of the office, trying to think of a strategy. He couldn't use Lightning Teleportation as the train was moving and connected to metal tracks. The tracks immediately made him hesitate. All the smaller Dragon Slayer really had were her Dragon Slayer abilities, her healing abilities, and Plue. Lucy had said the Little Dog Spirit was merely a companion, having no magic powers like Loke or Aries. Heck even Snowbelle would be a better option to have at that moment, as the canine actually had canine features and a strong bite to back up her bark. "Well Freed and Rose can fly so I wouldn't worry about them too much. Lucy is likely fine as well," he listed. Sonya rolled her eyes at the male.

"Well Wendy, looks like it's time for a field pop quiz. We'll keep an eye on you, while you try to handle this situation as is for right now, okay?" Wendy nodded.

 

The blue-haired child bit her lip as she set the lacrima on top of a crate and Plue on the floor. She began trying to shake Natsu awake.

"What in the hell is that?" Wendy snapped around to see the boss of the gang staring at Plue.

"Plue, he's a Celestial Spirit," she explained. The man smiled widely.

"So cute," he cooed. "I know I'm as bad as they come, but something about him just melts my evil heart." Immediately, Wendy took two steps back towards the communications lacrima.

"Um..." Suddenly, the man schooled his expression and stood up, using his foot to startle his lackeys awake.

"Alright ya bums! Move your rumps! Get up!" he ordered. His two men groaned as they came around.

"This place stinks," the larger one said.

"Hey check it out! A Celestial Spirit! Have you ever seen such a thing?!" the boss asked, pointing at Plue.

"Oh my gosh!" the lackeys cried as all three men got on their bellies to coo at the Spirit. Wendy turned to the lacrima to see Laxus pinching the bridge of his nose and Sonya staring at the thieves in disbelief.

"Um...excuse me?" she asked, snapping the boss out of his trance.

"Whoop! Truly rotten, wicked scoundrels like us should never lose our focus!" Immediately he snapped around to point his butt at his lackeys. Wendy trotted to the side, out of direct range of the thing. "Now drop to your bellies and then give me twenty-three!"

"Why do we gotta do that Boss?!" the skinny one cried.

"And why such a random number?"

"Because the boss says so that's why!" the man roared. His lackeys fell to the floor and began their pushups.

"So when they're done, what're you going to do next?" Wendy asked, nearing the boss.

"Are you kidding? We're gonna take this loot and break like the wind. Unless you can stop us by yourself ya little squirt," he said, putting his face near Wendy's. The child scowled, her nose scrunching rather cutely at the action as she picked up the Celestial Spirit at her feet.

"Plue's here too!" she objected, putting him in the man's face. He cooed at the adorable creature then shook his head before scowling at Wendy.

"THat just means there's gonna be one more hostage around for us to grab. So you try anything sneaky, and your friend here is gonna be neck-deep in a brown cloud!" he boasted, pressing his butt to the top of Natsu's head. Wendy groaned in disgust, the lacrima on the crate echoing the sound as the man's lackeys came up to him, panting from exertion.

"Alright boss," the brown-haired one said.

"We did just what you asked us to."

"Good, cause we got work to do." The man turned to the larger of the two. "B! You know what this calls for?!"

"Yep!" the bald one said with a salute before pulling the front of his bottom half of the body suit away and reaching inside.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU-" Laxus roared as Wendy averted her eyes.

"Dun-da-da-dah!" the man said, pulling out a stick of dynamite. Wendy chanced a glance and gasped.

"Dynamite?!" she squeaked as the men set it on the part that connected the freight car to the dining car ahead. The gang lit the fuse and took cover. Wendy squeaked again, grabbed Plue and the lacrima before ducking behind a crate for cover. Once the stick went off, the freight car began to slow and Wendy's eyes widened. "Oh no."

"Wendy, calm down." The child looked at the lacrima to see Sonya smiling comfortingly at her. "If the car comes to a stop, try to get the lacrima outside so Laxus can see where you are. Once that happens, we can Lightning Teleport over there and help you out, okay?" Wendy nodded. Suddenly the car jerked in the other direction, speeding along the tracks. Wendy looked past her crate to see that the gang of thieves had released another Triple Gas Butt Ecstasy and were using the force to propel the car down the tracks, making it their getaway vehicle. The jostling sent the lacrima flying from her hand and out the door.

"Oh no!" she cried, reaching after it.

 

"Oh no Wendy!" Sonya cried as the communication lacrima slipped out of the girl's hand. It bounced off the edge of the tracks and plummeted down towards a river. Off to the side, they could just see Freed shaking out his coat like a massive red flag.

"I've got it!" The lacrima came to a sudden stop as Rai caught it in his massive maw.

"Rai!" Sonya cheered as the Exceed landed and handed the lacrima to Rose. "Are you guys okay?"

"We reek but we're fine," Rose assured. "What about Wendy?"

"She's okay," Laxus assured. "Can one of you hold up the lacrima? If I know where you are I can teleport Sonya and myself there and lend a hand."

"Sure," Rose said as she did as instructed.

 

"In your face, kiss it Wizards!" the boss of the gang cheered. "Your Guild ain't got nothing on the Butt Jiggle Gang!" Wendy scowled again as she sat down on the ledge of her crate.

"You might've done this, but the car can't keep going forever. Can the three of you just keep on tooting your way down the tracks? Plus if you do get to where you wanna go, then what? There's a lot of gold. Any idea on how you're gonna carry it away?" she asked in a snappish tone. The boss' face fell as it dawned on him that he had no idea what to do next. Wendy's jaw dropped. "Are you serious?!" she cried. "I would think that an expert gang of thieves would've at least thought that far ahead!"

A few seconds later, the car came to a stop. The lackeys leaned towards their boss.

"The car ain't moving anymore Boss," Lackey A said.

"How we gonna make it go again?" Lackey B asked. The boss began to laugh manically.

"A true scoundrel always has a plan so listen to me!" he said as he lifted his thin arm in an attempt to show off his diminutive biceps. "Not only does our gang have brain power, but we've got brawn power too!"

"Good thinking boss!" Lackey A cheered. The boss lifted a crate that almost had him doubling over backwards and his knees wobbling under the weight.

"We'll do it the old-fashioned way! Roll up our sleeves, flex our muscles and put our backs into it!" As if on cue, a loud cracking sound echoed through the car and the man promptly dropped the heavy crate onto his foot, screaming in agony as he fell to the ground, pressing one hand to his lower back and holding his foot in the other as his uninjured foot kicked about, spinning him in a circle.

"No! Boss!" the lackeys cried. Wendy hurried over.

"Mister, are you okay?!" she cried.

"Do I look it?!" Immediately, the girl put her hands out and summoned her Magic Power, focusing on the areas of the man's body where she felt damage and working to reverse it as quickly as possible.

"I can help you!" she said quickly as the man's yelling calmed some.

"You can?" he asked. Wendy nodded.

"Yes sir. I specialize in Healing Magic. I'm not certain I can fix everything, but I'm fairly sure I can make you feel better at least." The lackeys looked down at their boss.

"Is it working boss?" Lackey A asked.

"Oh wow…It's like the pain is just floating right out of me," he said before standing up.

"That's amazing. This little girl is amazing!" Lackey B cheered.

"Thanks for the help missy, worked like a charm," the boss said with a grin.

"You're welcome," she said as the lackeys sighed in relief. The boss looked down at Natsu.

"So tell me. If your Magic is that powerful, why don't you cast a healing spell on your sick friend down there?" he asked.

"I do have a spell especially for motion sickness," Wendy said before tears began to tighten her throat. "But for some reason it just doesn't work on him anymore. It's my fault. If I were a better Wizard, I could use a more powerful spell that could help him." The Butt Jiggle Gang had tears running down their cheeks as they listened to her.

"D-don't cry…" the boss choked out. "I know you'll get better someday." Wendy sniffed and nodded.

"Yea you're probably right," she said, wiping at her eyes. "Lucky for me, Fairy Tail is full of nice people who wanna help me grown. And I'll always be thankful that I was able to find them when I did."

"So sweet!" the lackeys cried.

"Thanks for listening to me. You guys seem like super nice people too!" the girl said with a bright smile. The boss' bushy eyebrows twitched and he all but threw a hand in Wendy's face.

"Whoa now, slow down there kid. We are not nice guys. We are true scoundrels from the bowels of society!" he boasted.

"Bowels?" Wendy thought.

"That means we're only in it for ourselves!" the boss finished dramatically. Wendy kept smiling.

"So you never really answered my question. How are you going to get the gold out of here?" she asked. The boss' jaw dropped again as his lackeys leaned in past Wendy.

"Yea Boss, that's a lot of booty to be carrying around," Lackey A said.

"How're we gonna pull this sting off Boss?" Lackey B pressed.

"I get it lackeys! Let's huddle up!" The trio squatted in a circle and began whispering about how their body suits chafed their butts. Wendy shook her head, partially cursing her enhanced hearing for the unwanted conversation.

Wendy thought for a second, hearing the gang behind her mention gold. Her eyes widened and she looked at the numerous crates in the car.

"That's it!" she cheered quietly before turning back to the gang. "Umm…excuse me." The men jumped and screamed.

"What is it?!" cried the boss.

"You wanna give me a heart attack?!" Lackey A asked.

"You guys came here because you wanted to steal the gold really badly, right? I think I may have a better idea. How about I talk with the client and ask if he'll share some of it with you?"

"You think he'd actually go for that plan?" Lackey B asked.

"But I do have one condition, you gotta promise to never do anything bad again," she stated simply.

"Stop pulling my leg little girl," the boss said. Wendy simply stood up tall and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Then I guess you can just forget about getting any gold," she said firmly.

"Aw man!" the lackeys whined.

"You guys promise to be good and I promise, I'll move the freight car!" the Sky Dragon Slayer declared.

"But how you gonna do that?" Lackey A asked.

"Well…it's kina like how you guys did it earlier, but a tiny bit different," she replied. "Not nearly as disgusting, for one," she thought to herself.

"You can do a Gas Butt Triple Ecstasy all by yourself?" asked Lackey B. Wendy felt her face turn red and she shook her head quickly.

"No! That's not what I meant!" she squealed.

"So then, I guess you've got a deal squirt," the boss said, earning cries of surprise from his lackeys. "Lackeys, huddle up," he said simply.

"Right."

"Listen, we'll pretend to go along with her goody two-shoes plan. But truly rotten scoundrels like us would never be satisfied if we didn't take all the booty. We just need to get her guard down a bit, and then we'll be able to take every last brick of gold," the black-haired man whispered, earning sniggered praises from his lackeys. The boss of the gang stood up.

"Alright ya little stinker, let's see what you've got!" he cheered. Wendy nodded and headed out the car door. She looked around the door and could see nothing but desert as far as her eye could see. She climbed up the ladder leading to the roof of the car and stood on the edge of it.

"How's she gonna do this without the Gas Butt?" Lackey B asked.

"No clue," Lackey A muttered. "She's a puny little squeaker, but that emblem on her arm means she's part of some Wizard Guild. Maybe she's got some crazy Magical Power?"

"The only thing we can do is wait and see," the boss said with a tone of finality.

"Okay, here I go," Wendy said as she took a deep breath, filling her lungs with air. Her eyes flashed for a second as she braced her feet. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a bolt of lightning in the gorge behind her and a sigh of relief rushed out of her.

 

Laxus and Sonya touched down on the side of the gorge where Lucy, Rose, Freed and Rai were. Both Dragon Slayers gagged some at the smell surrounding their friends.

"Jeez!" Sonya groaned as she pulled out a silver Key. "Open, Gate of the Eagle, Aquila!" In an instant, a golden eagle the same height of an ostrich appeared and squawked at Sonya. "Hey Aquila, can you give us a hand getting up this gorge so we can see the train tracks?" The bird squawked again and flapped his wings a few times to take off.

"Dark Ecriture: Wings!" Freed said before taking off. The two Exceeds started flying as well as the eagle took hold of Sonya, Laxus and Lucy's arms to lift them off the ground. Rose snapped her fingers and her half-eagle, half-horse creature appeared again.

"Oh! I remember when you got that one!" Sonya cheered. "Hippogriff, right?"

"Yep!" Rose said as the group hovered at the same level. "Come on, we gotta find Wendy."

"Right!"

 

"SKY DRAGON ROAR!" Wendy bellowed, releasing as much Magic Power as possible. The results were instant, with the car practically flying down the tracks. Wendy could hear the gang behind her start screaming in awe and fear as they held onto the edge of the roof in an attempt to not fall off while she herself had to crouch some as the sudden force threw her off balance.

"Holy!" Lackey A cried over the wind.

"That's crazy!" agreed Lackey B as the train car flew past the gorge. The blue-haired child stood up and turned to the gang with a smile.

"So what do you think? This ought to make up for quite a bit of the time we lost," she stated proudly as she walked over to the gang.

"Wow you're incredible," the boss said. "Was that Dragon Slayer Magic?"

"Oh…uh…yea," Wendy answered sheepishly.

"Will you let us call you Little Lady Boss?" the whole gang asked at one time, bowing before her. Wendy felt herself stiffen.

"I've never met anyone so incredibly powerful. We would be honored-no thrilled! If you'd agree to be our goddess!" the boss declared. By the surprised looks his lackeys gave him, Wendy could guess this whole 'goddess' thing was a spur of the moment idea. "Please say yes, and you'll get to wear your own Butt Jiggle Body suit!" he declared, pulling a suit perfectly suited for someone her size from practically nowhere but she could guess where it had come from. "Say yes and we'll follow you to the ends of the earth!" he finished, shoving the suit into her hands.

"I-I don't know! It seems like a whole lot of responsibility!" she objected.

"Lackeys! Huddle!" the boss barked as if Wendy hadn't said a thing. She looked at the suit in her hands.

"What do I do now? I guess I have to pretend to be a part of their gang for a bit…I've gotta try and be strong! The reputation of the Fairy Tail Guild is in my hands!" she thought to herself. She quickly lowered herself back down the ladder and into the car before changing out of her pretty white dress and into the rubber suit. The hood part that covered her head stuck up in two places like cat ears and she felt her face redden further as she climbed back up the ladder again. No matter what, the job had to get done, for Fairy Tail's sake.

"So for the next part of the plan-"

"Excuse me," she spoke up, immediately wishing she could hide under a rock as they whispered among themselves about how precious she looked.

"So does this mean you're gonna be our goddess?" the boss asked.

"Yea," she sighed with a nod.

"This calls for a special occasion pose!" the black-haired man declared as he and the lackeys stood up. "What's our name?!"

"The Butt Jiggle Gang!" the males all cheered, thrusting their butts out. Wendy copied them, feeling even more self-conscious as she could practically hear the rubber stretch. The train car came to a stop and Wendy hurried over to the edge again and sucked in a breath, preparing her roar.

"Hold it right there!" Everyone looked up to see three sets of massive wings and two smaller pairs. Wendy nearly cried in relief as Laxus, Sonya, Lucy and Freed landed on the roof between herself and the gang. Above them, Rai and Rose on her hippogriff hovered next to a massive golden eagle the height of an ostrich.

"Natsu's still inside!" Wendy reported, causing the others to look at her.

"Cool!" Lucy said with a thumbs up. Then the whole group did a double-take at what the child was wearing. Freed's face flushed red in embarrassment before he pulled off his coat and draped it over the girl. Wendy nodded her thanks as she all but burrowed into the red fabric that matched her blush perfectly.

"Wendy…did you change?" Sonya asked.

"Oh…Uh…I…Ummm…" Laxus slowly turned towards the gang with a snarl.

"What…the fuck…did you do?" he ground out through his teeth as he popped his knuckles. Wendy felt herself shiver as Sonya, Lucy and even Freed took a few steps back.

"We've done as true scoundrels should!" the boss of the gang declared, puffing out his chest to try appearing bigger. "For we are the Butt Jiggle Gang!" Laxus popped his neck. The black-haired man began shaking slightly. "A-and now! We are complete with our very own goddess!"

"It's the greatest thing the Butt Jiggle Gang has ever done!" Lackey B cried.

"I think he's gonna blow," Lucy whispered.

"Yea, I agree," Sonya said quickly.

"Let me make something clear to you," the blonde male growled out as he slowly neared the group. "That 'goddess' of yours is twelve!" he roared before pulling an arm back and clenching his fist.

"I'm begging ya goddess, you're the only one who can save our butts!" the boss begged.

"Lackeys! Huddle up!" Wendy cried, raising a hand into the air.

"Right!" Laxus swung his fist forward, only to just miss the men as they ran around him and knelt on one knee before the twelve-year-old.

"What the hell?" he growled.

"Is she in their gang now?" Rose asked.

"No idea!" Sonya called.

"Listen," Wendy began. "Maybe the plan needs to be to stop being true scoundrels. Maybe you guys should try being Wizards instead. Fairy Tail has a history of rehabilitating people to work well in society. I can even put in a good word for you if you're interested." The men began openly sobbing at the girl's words.

"Do you mean it? You care about us bums that much?" the boss asked.

"These feelings are all so new to me," Lackey A managed to choke out through his tears.

"I never even thought about my future!" Lackey B added.

"Little Lady Boss, you're the nicest person we ever met!" the black-haired man bawled out.

"This is getting weird," Rose said as her hippogriff landed on the roof by her brother.

"I think Evergreen might need to teach Wendy how to be a little more…not this," the blonde male said, gesturing to the rubber-clad people.

"I agree," Sonya and Lucy said at the same time.

"Alright you turds!" Everyone snapped around to see Natsu kneeling at the opposite end of the car as Wendy and the Butt Jiggle Gang.

"I explained to him what's going on!" Happy cheered. "Wendy, don't worry! We won't let these bad guys take you hostage!"

"No! Wait! It's not really like that Happy!" the young Slayer cried, shaking her hands and head.

"You guys were just pretending to be nice to me because you wanted to steal frm my client?!" Natsu demanded as his fist burst into flames and he slowly neared the group. "Getting tricked like that makes me angry!"

"Hold on a minute Natsu!" Laxus barked. The pink-haired Slayer burst into a sprint. "Dammit!"

"Aquila!" Sonya yelled. The golden eagle squawked and flew towards the gang, claws opening to grab.

"FIRE DRAGON..."

"Hold on Natsu! They're-" Wendy's words were cut off by a scream as the eagle grabbed her by the arms and lifted her away from the car as Natsu punched the gang.

"IRON FIST!" he roared as the men flew into the distance.

"Dammit Natsu!" Laxus barked, earning the pink-haired male's attention.

"What're you guys doing here?" he asked to Sonya and Laxus.

"Wendy called us," Sonya explained. "But what are you doing here Dragneel?!"

"I'm doing a job!" he cheered.

"What job?" Laxus demanded.

"I'm delivering this gold with Lucy and Wendy." The entire group glared at him.

"No, you're not," Laxus growled as he neared the other male. "This job is being done by Lucy, Rose, Freed and Wendy. They don't need you here!"

"Of course they do! When I came around, Lucy was gone and Wendy was being held hostage by those creeps and none of you could do anything about it!" the Fire Dragon Slayer roared.

"Natsu!" the Lightning Dragon Slayer snarled as the eagle set Wendy down next to Lucy and Sonya. "I disbanded your team. You have no reason to be here! SO my understanding is that you stalked them onto this job!"

"I didn't stalk them! I showed up early and the client paid me! Here!" Natsu pulled an envelope out of his vest and held it up. "See? I got paid so I'm on this job!"

"No you're not!" Lucy yelled as she stepped forward and Sonya and Rose dismissed their steeds. "Natsu! I am not doing this job with you! I'm doing it with Freed, Wendy and Rose! Nothing even started going wrong on this job until you showed up!"

"But Lucy-"

"Shut it Dragneel!" she screamed. "What the hell is your freaking problem anyway?! I've told you what's making me upset yet you refuse to listen!"

"Lucy, calm down. Geez. Hanging around Laxus is making you so weird." Lucy's fists clenched and shook at her sides. Sonya placed a hand on her shoulder, catching the blonde's attention.

"Just give me that envelope!" she demanded, holding out her hand. Natsu gave her a quizzical look before handing it over. "Good! Now. You can stay with us until we get to the station. But after that, you're gonna stay away from me!" Sonya pulled her Mate away from the pink-haired Slayer and towards the ladder.

"Hey wait up!" Natsu called as the others climbed down and into the car. It only took a few minutes for everyone to get settled and Wendy to get them moving again.

 

Lucy sighed n relief as Laxus teleported the group to the Guild's front door. Natsu was six hours away with Happy. A tiny part of her felt pity for the Dragon Slayer who now had to either fly or take the train back to Magnolia.

"Mommy!" Rose snapped around and smiled as Lexi ran up to her.

"Hey sweetie!" the scarlet-tipped blonde cheered as she wrapped her arms around her daughter, picking her up and kissing her face. Sonya smiled before sniffing the air a few times.

"No way!" she breathed.

"What's up?" Lucy asked her Mate. The caramel-haired Wizard beamed and rushed to the doors, all but throwing them open.

"Daphne!" she cried, earning the attention of the dark-haired woman who was currently holding Erika. Her eyes were a dark gray color and she wore a mint-green top, pink jeans and brown cowgirl boots, complete with a long white lab coat and a cowgirl hat on top of her head.

"Sonya!" Daphne cheered as she hurried over, mindful of the infant in her one arm as the other wrapped tightly around the other female. Sonya hugged her back and laughed.

"When did you get here?"

"Just about thirty minutes ago. This little one has been great company!" the scientist said, bopping Erika affectionately on the nose. Lucy stepped up to Daphne with a smile before Sonya wrapped an arm around the blonde's shoulders.

"Daphne, this is my Mate, Lucy Heartfilia, and the blonde guy over there is the Alpha of our Pack, Laxus Dreyar." Laxus gave a single nod to the young woman in greeting as he neared. Daphne adjusted her glasses as she looked Lucy over.

"Uh...hi," she said nervously.

"Lucy Heartfilia...Oh! My companion was talking of you!" Daphne said, snapping her fingers.

"Companion?" Sonya asked.

"She's talking about me." The people assembled in the front door all turned to see a young woman with sandy-blonde hair and bright blue eyes, dressed in a very ruffled pink dress with a hoop skirt that stretched to the floor and her head was topped with a bonnet decorated with a purple rose.

"Hi there," Lucy said awkwardly. The girl seemed familiar somehow but she couldn't put her finger on why. "May I ask your name?"

"Who am...I?" the girl said in a choked up voice. Immediately, her nose started running, her bottom lip quivered and her eyes shone with tears. "How could you forget your dear Michelle Lobster, you meanie!" she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"What?!" Lucy cried as everyone took a step back.

"Uh...Lucy, we're kinda making a scene here," Laxus said, glancing at the inside of the Guild. Sure enough, everyone was staring at them. A part of him wanted to snarl. He was bad enough in social situations, let alone ones like this! He didn't know what had caused this Michelle to start crying, nor what would make her stop, which only made his involvement in the situation that much more awkward.

"I'm sorry," Michelle sniffled, wiping at her cheeks. Freed handed the girl a handkerchief, which she took gratefully. "I guess I shouldn't expect you to remember me after such a long time."

"Oh no. I mean. You looked familiar, I just couldn't remember where is all!" Lucy assured as she wrapped an arm around the girl. "How about we go inside and talk okay?"

"Okay," Michelle said with a bright smile. "But even if you don't completely remember me, it's good to see you again Big Sister Lucy." Lucy blinked.

"Hang on..." she said slowly.

"SISTER?!" almost everyone in the Guild cried.

"Sensitive ears here people!" Sonya yelled as she, Wendy, Gajeel and Laxus rubbed their ringing ears.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lucy and Michelle settle in and Rose is hired by the Council. Also, Rose reveals more clues to the audience about who Lexi's father is.

"So, you're Lucy's sister?" Sonya asked as the ringing in her ears died down some.

"Well, more like the Lobsters and Heartfilias are related. Lucy and I aren't actual sisters," Michelle explained.

"That makes a little more sense," Laxus said.

"Well how about we stop loitering in the doorway, have a seat and talk?" Sonya suggested as Daphne handed over Erika.

"Oh that's right!" Michelle said as she turned and hurried over to a table where a long box rested, a portion of it covered by a pastel-blue shawl. The case itself was almost the diameter of the table. "I'm supposed to give this to Lucy," the sandy-blonde explained, placing a hand on the box.

"What is it?" Lucy asked as she neared. Everyone from their group dispersed around the Guild with the Thunder Legion, Laxus and Sonya staying close to Lucy.

"I don't know," Michelle said as she slipped the shawl over her shoulders. "All I know is that your father wanted you to have it. I was his assistant until he passed and this is my last errand for him. Actually, he passed the case on to me when he was on his deathbed." Lucy's eyes widened and Michelle dabbed at her teary eyes.

"You were?" the Celestial Wizard asked as they both sat down next to the case.

"Yes."

"His final moments…and you were right there with him," Lucy murmured. Michelle reached forward and placed her hand on Lucy's comfortingly.

"He never stopped worrying about you when you disappeared seven years ago. But he was constantly insisting that you were indeed alive out there. Because he held onto that hope, he asked me to find you and bring you this memento. I don't know if this will help but when he went, it was extremely peaceful, as if he was falling asleep. And now that you have it, I believe he'll be able to rest in peace at last." Lucy nodded at the other blonde's words.

"Thank you Michelle. I really appreciate that," she said before turning to the case. "So do you know what's inside it?"

"I'm not certain. I was only told to deliver it…so I never looked inside to see for myself," Michelle admitted, twiddling her thumbs together. Lucy smiled and wrapped her arms around the girl.

"Thank you Michelle. May I open it?"

"Of course." Lucy walked around the table until she found the clasps of the case. She flicked them open and lifted the lid. Inside was a cloth-wrapped thing that extended the length of the case with one end larger than the other, almost like a giant thermometer. Sonya and Laxus' noses crinkled some as if they smelled something bad.

"Um...Michelle. Do you have any idea what this is?" Lucy asked as she unwrapped the item. It looked like it was made from brass and wood. By the looks of the wood itself, it was old. But the slightly larger end almost reminded Lucy of some kind of gear. Michelle shook her head.

"I assumed it was something Mr. Jude was fond of. Does it look at all familiar?" she asked as she stood up and looked inside the case herself.

"Not really. I don't remember anything like this around the house at least," Lucy said as she placed the item back in the case and looked up at Laxus. The blonde male shrugged.

"Some kind of battering weapon like a Warhammer?" he suggested. Lucy blanched.

"Knowing my father, I kinda doubt that, but thanks hun."

"I just remembered!" Michelle declared, smacking a fist into her palm.

"What it is?" Lucy asked. The pink-clad girl bit her lip.

"No…I just…I remembered that…" Her stomach let out a long growl and she wrapped her arms around her middle as her cheeks reddened. "I haven't eaten anything in three days."

"What?!" Lucy cried. She quickly shut the case and Kinana chuckled as she brought over a plate of cheese and crackers for the girl. "Thanks Kinana."

"Yes, thank you," Michelle said with a nod.

"Don't worry about it Lucy," the purple-haired woman said over her shoulder as she headed back to the bar. Michelle began eating at the crackers and cheese on the plate.

"So then…I think once Michelle's done eating, I'm gonna take her and the case back to my apartment for a bit. I bet after all her traveling, she's tired," Lucy said.

"Good point. I should probably spend some time with Daphne," Sonya said.

"And Gramps dumped a load of paperwork on me so I'll go get that worked on," Laxus said as he turned and headed towards the stairs.

"Okay. See you tomorrow Laxus!" Lucy called. The male held up a hand in his version of a wave and went up the stairs as Sonya sat down at the table with Michelle and Daphne.

"So then. Daphne, you said she was your companion?" Sonya asked.

"Oh yes, yes, yes!" the dark-haired scientist said cheerfully. "She and I met on the train from Oaktown to here and chatted the whole way here!" Daphne launched off into some topics they'd covered from what Michelle's name meant to some inventions Daphne had come up with while working for the Counsel and their favorite foods. Apparently, the food took up the majority of the train ride.

Once Michelle was done eating, Lucy hugged Sonya and gave Erika a kiss on the forehead before picking up the case.

"Need any help with that?" Bickslow offered.

"No. I've got it, thanks though," the blonde Celestial Wizard said before linking her free arm with Michelle's. "Come on Michelle, let's head back to my place." Michelle smiled and nodded. Once the two left the Guild property, Michelle seemed to physically deflate some. "Whoa, you okay?" Lucy asked as the other girl leaned on her some.

"Yes I'm fine. Just a little tired," she said. Lucy smiled.

"Don't worry. My apartment's not too far off. Once we get there I'll brew us some tea and we can get you settled." Michelle leaned her head on Lucy's shoulder and the two kept walking.

"It seems like a fun place," she observed with a yawn.

"You mean Dad didn't tell you about it? Fairy Tail is only the most important thing that's ever happened to me. I mean, yea there's a few bad apples in there, but they don't fill the whole Guild. Everyone there is so passionate in their own way and they all care about each other like family."

"That reminds me. That girl, Sonya, she mentioned you were her Mate and that Laxus fellow was the 'Alpha of your Pack'? What does that mean?"

"Oh um…It…It's kinda complicated but basically it's tied to how Sonya and Laxus are both Dragon Slayers. The Pack is an intimate group among Dragons and Dragon Slayers. Laxus is our leader, Sonya says that she and I are Beta-Gammas which is kinda like being second-in-command and being protectors of the group. It's the Dragon equivalent to being engaged to each other."

"I see. But, they care for you?" Michelle asked.

"Yea they do. Laxus admitted a while back that he had a bit of a crush on me and Sonya's been a huge help to the both of us since she was raised by Draco himself while Laxus and I were raised by humans. If not for her we'd both be clueless in what to do. And since we've been hanging out together more, I've been happier. I'm covered for rent, I have food in my kitchen, I sleep in my bed every night, and whenever Natsu, Gray, Erza or Mira try anything, they're ready to step in for me if I need it. Aside from that, Laxus is planning on including me in his training of Wendy so that I can learn how to exercise and fight without hurting myself."

"That sounds nice."

"You think so?" Lucy asked. Michelle nodded as she laid her other hand on Lucy's arm and looked up into the other blonde's brown eyes.

"I think Mr. Jude would be very happy that you've found people who care for you and that you've made a home for yourself." Lucy couldn't help a smile as she placed her head on Michelle's.

"I'd like to think so too. I'm glad you're here Michelle." The dress-clad girl smiled and the two continued on their way to Lucy's apartment.

 

"Did you know that Dad actually sent money to my landlord so I don't need to worry about rent until March?" Lucy asked as she unlocked her door.

"Yes, I was a witness for his will," Michelle explained as she looked around the room.

"Go ahead and get comfortable. I'll make us something to eat," Lucy encouraged as she began pulling out some greens for a salad.

"Oh don't trouble yourself," Michele called.

"It's no trouble really. I can't tell you how happy I am. I mean, I was so little when Mom passed away and then I lost Dad in the blink of an eye. Even with Laxus and Sonya's help, it's been kinda rough lately. So finding out that I've got relatives is awesome! So are there any other Lobsters nearby? I'd love to meet them someday. Do you get to see them often?" Lucy called as she prepared the cups for tea, and the two salads. "Oh, never mind! Don't mind me. I just ramble when I get excited or nervous!"

"Keep your chin up Iris! You'll get through it somehow!" Lucy's eyes widened as she poked her head out to see Michelle crying as she read over the manuscript from Lucy's backpack.

"Oh come on! Don't read things without permission!" she cried. Michelle wiped at her eyes and sniffled.

"Sorry. Where should I put it?"

"On the desk please. And do you like or not like anything on your salad?" Lucy asked.

"Um...No. I'll eat anything." Lucy nodded before she brought the two plates of salad to the table, brought over the tea and poured the water. Lucy removed the case from the table and set it against the wall before the two sat down and began to eat.

"So how long have you wanted to be a writer Big Sister?" Michelle asked, her mouth full of lettuce, carrots and egg white. Lucy couldn't help a chuckle.

"You're worse than Natsu. Chew or talk, it's not hard," she scolded lightly before glancing at the case, wondering just what in the world her father had left her.

"Lucy?" Michelle asked, her mouth clear of food.

"Oh, nothing Michelle. I was just wanting to know what that thing in the case is. I mean, there's no inscriptions or anything."

"I see. So, back to this Pack of yours. Miss Sonya has an infant, does she not? Is it Laxus' child?" Michelle asked.

"No. Um…the baby's name is Erika but she's not Laxus or Soyna's daughter by birth. Her biological parents…her father is Jose Porla and her mother was Hannah, a woman he kidnapped and held against her will. Sonya adopted the baby earlier this year but she was born while we were on a job, the three of us together. Her mother died but Sonya took her in immediately. Laxus was a little nervous at first but lately he's been settling in wonderfully as a father-figure."

"Oh? How so?" Michelle asked as she sipped at her tea.

"Well, he's fed her a lot since she was born, and even changed her diapers all through the night when she was born. Since we've been back, he'll still feed her every now and again and even lay next to her on the floor and play with her. One time Sonya and I came in to find him taking a nap on the couch with Erika on his chest. It was so adorable but also completely hilarious. She's a peanut compared to him!" The two girls giggled, one at the memory and the other at the mental image that appeared.

"That seems very cute. Does Laxus have any children of his own?" Michelle asked.

"No. According to Sonya, until we pass through the Covenant Veil, the Dragon form of marriage, he and she are infertile. But his sister, Rose does have a child. The woman with the blonde hair with red tips? Her daughter's name is Lexi and that child is an absolute sweetheart. I honestly find myself hoping that one day, Sonya, Laxus and I can have a happy family like that."

"You're so cool, I'm jealous," Michelle sighed as she set her teacup down. Lucy's eyes widened. "You've achieved one dream and now you and your Pack are working towards another. You're really living a charmed life, aren't you?" Michelle's voice had dropped from the breathy, happy voice she'd used at the Guild, and was now more chest-tone and depressive. Lucy bit the inside of her cheek.

"So, where are you going from here?" she asked, trying to change the subject. Michelle began twiddling her thumbs and chewing on her bottom lip. Lucy smiled and stood up. "How about you stay with me for a bit?"

"What?" Michelle said, her eyes widening. Lucy took a hold of the other woman's hand gently.

"Why don't you stay here with me for a little while? It's no trouble." Michelle immediately shook her head and Lucy felt her mood drop somewhat.

"I don't want to be a bother," the pink-clad woman said softly. Lucy gripped her hand tighter and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't be silly. I'd love a roommate! Plus, I'd love it if you could get to know Laxus, Sonya, Rose, Lexi, Freed, Bickslow, Evergreen and the Master better! And the kids!" Lucy insisted. Michelle's eyes began shining as tears collected on her lashes.

"Thank you. I promise you won't regret it Big Sis." Her nose began running and a few tears slipped down her cheeks. "I'll find a job quick. Don't worry about rent. I'll be on time. Promise!" she said, her lip quivering as her words became more like blubbering in her happiness.

"It's okay, don't worry. You need a tissue?" Lucy asked as she handed a tissue to the woman. "I know, how about tomorrow, we head up to the Guild Hall and ask Laxus if you can work there? Maybe at the bar with Kinana."

"Me?! Work at Fairy Tail?!" Michelle managed to cheer before she blew her nose very loudly into the tissue. Lucy smiled as the dress-clad woman threw her arms around her middle and sobbed into her clothing. The Celestial Wizard petted Michelle's bonnet comfortingly as she chuckled. If Michelle burst into tears this easily, then Laxus might have a bit of a problem if his reaction to Michelle's crying earlier was any indication.

 

Sonya hummed to the baby strapped to her front as she made her way to the office and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Laxus called. The caramel-haired woman entered and smiled at the piles of paperwork surrounding her Mate. The blonde male pushed himself up from his chair somewhat to see over the stacks. "Oh Sonya. Something up?" he asked.

"Maybe. Quick question. What do you think of Michelle?" she asked. Laxus gave the woman a curious look as she neared so he wouldn't need to awkwardly hold himself up to see her.

"I think she's fine. Why?"

"Because I've had a bad feeling ever since Lucy opened that case today."

"Yea, it smelled weird alright," Laxus admitted. "If I had to compare it to something, I'd say Gramps' house. But…it was extremely different at the same time you know?"

"Yea. It smelled old," Sonya explained. "But…a part of me wonders how all this just so happens to be happening." Laxus put his pen down and turned to face the Celestial Wizard.

"What do you mean?"

"Michelle happens to be a distant relative of Lucy's and they happen to have been close enough that Michelle feels comfortable calling Lucy 'Big Sister', yet Lucy happens to not really remember her too well, she happens to have been Jude Heartfilia's assistant, and just so happens to have been at his side when he died and just so happened to be the only one he trusted enough to give this memento to in order to give it to Lucy. I believe in coincidences, but that's just freaky." Laxus sighed and shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe your gut's telling you something and you're misinterpreting it."

"I don't think so," she said quickly. "On top of that, Jude died in November, and its January now. And the man Lucy and I spoke to in Acalypha, who informed us of Jude's death, said nothing about him having an assistant." Laxus shrugged.

"I don't know what to tell you. I don't think Michelle is a threat, or that memento. I barely sensed any Magic Power from Michelle at all." Sonya sighed and placed her hands protectively on Erika.

"I'm just...I don't know. She's already been hurt a lot by Natsu and his group, and Mira's getting in on it, and her father's death…I just don't want her to get hurt anymore." Laxus reclined into his chair some.

"Sonya, you once told me that Gammas are the peacekeepers of the Pack, the warrior on behalf of the Alpha and Beta."

"Yea. I show more Gamma tendencies and Lucy shows more Beta," she said with a nod.

"Okay. So I'd say it makes sense that you don't want her to get hurt again. You've been trying to handle working to keep the Guild afloat and have seen plenty of people come and go, claiming to be part of this family. So I'd say it makes sense that you're a little wary of Michelle. Try getting to know her some, okay?" Sonya nodded.

"Okay. I'll try," she said.

 

"And then Bickslow made the snowman go flying around playing with me!" Lexi finished as she skipped along beside her mother. Rose smiled at the child as they neared their apartment.

"Sounds like you had a fun day."

"Yea. Super fun!" the redheaded child squealed. Rose looked up and froze in her steps, pulling her child behind her legs at the sight of the dark-haired man dressed in a Rune Knight uniform standing in front of their building. "Mommy…" Lexi cooed as she caught sight of the man too and moved to hide further behind her mother.

"Lexi. I'll talk to him out here. I want you to go into the apartment, lock the door behind you and keep the communication lacrima with you. Now what's our secret phrase?" Rose said as she turned and bent down to her child's eye level.

"What's red and green and goes a million miles an hour?" Lexi asked in answer.

"Frog in a blender," mother and daughter whispered to each other.

"And what do you do if they don't give the right answer?"

"Go into my room, lock the door and call Uncle Laxus." Rose rubbed the tip of her nose against Lexi's, causing the child to giggle, before they continued towards their building.

"Can I help you, Lahar?" Rose asked. The man turned and pushed his glasses up his nose.

"You're looking well Rose," he said. "And Alexis, I see you've grown since I last saw you." Lexi nodded in acknowledgement, keeping her eyes on her mother's shoes.

"Lexi, go inside." The child hurried to do as told, all but slamming the door shut in her hurry to avoid the dark-haired man.

"What was that about?"

"What do you think?" the scarlet-tipped blonde snapped. Lahar sighed.

"Rose, I'm here because I need your help."

"With what?"

"What if we were to go inside to discuss the details?" Lahar asked. Rose's stormy-colored eyes narrowed as her arms crossed over her chest.

"You're in-fucking-sane if you think I'm letting you into my home with my daughter right now."

"Rose, please, there's no need to-"

"If you're gonna waste my time, fuck off," Rose interrupted, pressing her middle finger to her thumb, prepared to snap if needed. Lahar sighed again.

"As of late, there've been incidents involving Zentopian churches. They're being burnt to the ground. So far, there's no leads on who the culprits are. One of my men is a follower of Zentopia and is claiming what's happening is the work of the Devil."

"So find a Devil Slayer, I'm retired from the Rune Knights," Rose said shortly.

"I'm asking you because you have history with the Rune Knights. My men trust you, the Counsel trusts you…I trust you." The Knight reached forward and cupped one of her hands. Rose immediately yanked her hand back, glaring at the man.

"The fact that I'm not wearing the same uniform as you proves how much bullshit you're spouting about the Counsel. And they have it all on file for me and my daughter. One wrong step and we're likely to be locked up with the key thrown away," she hissed. Lahar clenched his jaw.

"What if I could get that file for you?" he asked.

"What?"

"If I were to promise to give you all the tests and evidence of them the Counsel has on file as payment for your assistance with this issue, would you help me?" Rose's eyes narrowed.

"Just me? On my own?" Lahar handed over a file.

"I'm aware you've joined Fairy Tail. If you feel assistance may be required, you may bring it. This file contains everything that we have so far on the church burnings." Rose took the file with a sigh and played with the corner a little.

"I'll need a little time to look everything over, ask those I may need, and find accommodations for Lexi."

"The Counsel could-"

"The Counsel won't do shit!" she snapped. "I'd rather Lexi be with me on the front lines than anywhere near the custody of the Counsel or the Fiore foster system!" Lahar took a step back, raising his hands in surrender.

"I understand. Call me when you're ready," he said before he turned and left. Rose waited until the man was gone before she entered her building. Lucy popped her head out of her door.

"Hey, I heard yelling. Everything okay?"

"Yea. Everything's fine. Thanks Lucy," she said as she headed to her door. The blonde nodded and shut her door. Rose knocked on her own.

"What's red and green and goes a million miles per hour?" Lexi asked on the other side.

"Frog in a blender," Rose replied with a smile. The lock clicked open and Rose let herself in. Lexi giggled a little. "What's so funny?"

"How did you come up with our phrase?"

"You're asking me that now? After we've used it for so long?"

"I wanna know now," Lexi said. Rose smiled.

"Your daddy taught it to me when we were little." Lexi smiled.

"So Daddy will know the answer too?"

"Likely. Now, go brush your teeth and I'll get your pjs set out."

"Yes Mommy," Lexi said as she put the lacrima down and hurried to the bathroom. Rose picked up their bags and set them on the counter, setting the file on the coffee table before going into her daughter's room.

 

Once Lexi was in bed and asleep, Rose was in her living room, reading over the file as she sipped at a cup of tea. Each report was the same and by the time she'd looked over the tenth one, she allowed her mind to wander.

At first, she was thinking of who she'd want with her, probably the Thunder Legion. Her brother trusted them. And since they'd gone through with Fantasia, which required time to set up, they could keep a secret. They were powerful enough to take out a grand majority of the Fairy Tail Guild if they so desired. Whoever it was that was burning the churches, they could well be powerful so having the Thunder Legion around would be good.

Then her mind shifted to what Lexi had told her of her day, in particular the parts involving Bickslow. The Seith Wizard had been of particular interest to the young mother as of late. Her daughter loved spending time with him and Rose found herself wanting to be around him more often. And while she'd never tell her brother, the blue-and-black-haired man had possibly dropped an innuendo or two and even a pick-up line here or there. However, one thing she appreciated was that he never suggested it with Lexi around. Every time he did, Lexi had been at a friend's house or at a sleepover and Rose had been getting a drink at the Guild to relax.

Then it shifted to Erik, her Erik. Even after eight years, she couldn't help but think of him as her Erik. Maybe it was because he was the only person she'd ever had sex with, or maybe she'd inherited a small part of her father's apparent insanity, but on a much lesser scale…hopefully.

And then her mind went flipping back and forth, comparing the two.

Rose set down her empty teacup and went into her room. She sat down on the bed and pulled open a drawer on her nightstand, revealing a small gray velvet box with a piece of cardboard inside with two holes for earrings, a small, heart-shaped silver locket, and a ring holding six keys made of copper and one made of iron. She pulled out the locket and held it to her chest as she laid back on her bed.

She knew Erik wanted her to be happy. But while she hoped that things would work out, she couldn't help but be scared shitless of the idea of going on with her life. She'd learned a lot in her time with the Rune Knights, including how many young people who were abused were usually mistreated by the boyfriend of the mother. Lahar hadn't physically harmed or psychologically abused Lexi, but he'd still abused the trust of the Dreyar women. But even if that hadn't happened, if she'd never been involved with Lahar, a part of her still wanted Erik to come back and be with her and Lexi.

Rose opened the locked and pulled out a small, folded up piece of paper.

New home, new life, new family. I promise. –E. 

The scarlet-tipped blonde closed her eyes and folded the paper up again before tucking it inside the locket and putting the necklace back in the drawer, shutting it firmly. She ran a hand through her hair once before she got up and started getting ready for bed.

 

Lexi was all smiles and giggles as she entered the Guild Hall in the morning, her mother following behind her with a much more somber atmosphere. The file Lahar had given her was in her hand and the silver locket was around her neck.

"Ah, good morning Rose," Freed greeted before turning his attention to Lexi. Rose smiled.

"Hey Freed. Laxus here?" she asked.

"Indeed. Is there a problem?" he asked. Lexi looked at her mother worriedly.

"No. Not a problem. I just need to ask him something." The Rune Mage nodded.

"In that case, he should be in the office." Rose nodded and headed upstairs. Freed watched for a moment before turning to Lexi. "Lexi, did anything strange occur last night?"

"Lahar was at our apartment," the child reported. "But Mommy seemed fine when she put me to bed. Then this morning she was wearing Daddy's locket."

"Daddy's locket?" the man asked.

"Yea. Daddy gave Mommy a locket before he left with his promise written inside. New home, new family, new life. It means one day he'd come back to make a new home with her, a new family that's all their own, and a new life that they can live together." Freed's eyes widened.

"That sounds like an engagement to me." Lexi shrugged.

"Daddy just wants Mommy to be happy." Freed looked back at the stairs and hummed thoughtfully.

 

Rose paused outside the office, her hand ready to knock. She quickly tucked the locket under her shirt and knocked.

"Unless you're Natsu, Gray and/or Erza, come in." Rose chuckled as she entered the room.

"Good morning bro," she said as she came up to the office. Laxus sighed.

"It's morning alright," he muttered behind his mountain of paperwork. Rose peeked over her brother's shoulder and her eyes widened.

"What…the hell?" she asked.

"Natsu, Erza and Gray," he muttered. "Roughly 75-90% of this paperwork is here because of them."

"Are you serious?" the scarlet-tipped blonde groaned.

"Yea. Something wrong sis?" he asked, putting his pen down.

"Not really wrong. Just gotta ask you something. If I were to take the Thunder Legion for a job, would that be alright?" Laxus glanced at his sister.

"What job?"

"A Counsel job. Lahar approached me last night with this," she said, placing the file on the desk. Laxus picked it up and looked it over. "He wants my help. Said if I helped, he'd give me the DNA test results for Lexi that I got fired about and all evidence of them."

"Are you serious?"

"Yes." Laxus tapped his fingers on his knee.

"Then why are you still in here and not getting the Thunder Legion ready to go?" he asked.

"First of all, would you be willing to have Lexi stay with you and Rai while I'm gone?"

"Of course. I don't have any kid stuff in my house but I don't have any qualms with picking up some stuff."

"Well, Sonya can help you if it's needed. Plus, Lexi will talk your ear off if you ask her to," Rose said with a smile. "But second off, I want to ask you something, not as my brother." Laxus leaned back in his chair.

"This sounds serious," he said. Rose nodded.

"Remember how when you talked to me on New Years about Bickslow and my getting close to him?" the elder Dreyar nodded.

"Yes. I remember saying I trust your judgement."

"Well…Had Lahar not shown up, I was going to send Lexi to Azuka's and invite Bickslow over for a drink or two. But with last night and this payment offer, it's got me a little…uncertain. I mean…I never saw the results of those tests and I never knew about who the Knights had locked up before I was hired. For all I know, this is my chance to find Erik again. And before he left, Erik gave me this." Rose pulled her necklace off and handed it to her brother. The man opened the locket and unfolded the paper, reading it over.

"Rose, if I'm understanding this right, this locket seems an awful lot like Erik's equivalent of an engagement ring." The scarlet-tipped blonde nodded.

"He told me he wants me to be happy, no matter what. But with Lahar showing up last night it has me questioning if I'm just being stupid and hormonal, like I was with Lahar, or if I have the right idea in thinking that Bickslow would never do anything to harm Lexi. It's been almost eight years since I last saw Erik and Lexi has never laid eyes on her father. But she does need a good male influence in her life. While you and Gramps are good and Freed would definitely be a great influence on her, I want to give her a dad. And I want to get to know Bickslow better and I like being around him." Laxus sighed as Rose's explanation came to an end.

"Rose…Wow…Um…I really don't know what the hell to say," he muttered, looking at the locket.

"Yea. Me neither." The blonde male closed the locket and handed it back to his sister.

"Well, my guess would be…Hell, I don't know. Damn, I wish we'd lived normal lives, as normal siblings." Rose chuckled.

"If that was the case, I bet we'd be at each other's throats constantly. But you'd still want to kill Erik for leaving me when we conceived Lexi, hell you probably would've wanted to do that when we first had sex." Laxus chuckled, nodding.

"Likely. I was concerned when I found you in that old shrine, with the boards wrapping around it that were half falling off, half breaking apart so bad you'd get splinters by looking at them," he muttered before Rose grabbed the file and smacked him on top of the head with it.

"Shut up! You know that shrine looked good before you even showed up!"

"You say that, but I'm still picking splinters out of my hands!" he countered, giving Rose's hip a light shove. The siblings shared a small laugh. "Listen Rose, as your brother who had no idea you even freaking existed until, three months ago my time, I am already jealous enough of the Thunder Legion getting your attention. But, again as your brother who didn't know you even existed until a short while ago, I know I have no real say in what you do with your life. My advice, listen to your gut. That's what I always did." Rose chuckled again. "Actually, completely disregard everything I just said. I'm an idiot apparently," he said turning back to his paperwork. Rose smiled and placed a hand on his arm.

"Thanks big bro," she said before pressing a kiss to his temple.

"One thing," he said as she pulled back. "If we grew up normally, I think I would've castrated Lahar for approaching you romantically, considering how old he is compared to you!" Rose burst into laughter again before hugging her brother's shoulders.

"Yea, yea," she said before picking up the file and heading off. "Love ya Laxus."

"Love you too Rosie," he called before the door shut.

 

Rose leaned back against the door, holding the locket to her chest as she smiled. She pushed herself off the door and headed down to the bar where Bickslow was talking with Freed while Evergreen watched Lexi draw. The mother came over and used her fingers to comb back her daughter's soft red hair before kissing her crown. Lexi turned and hugged her mother.

"Hey sweetie, I gotta go on a job for a bit. You're gonna stay with Uncle Laxus, okay?" Lexi's smile faded before she nodded. "Honey?"

"Is it because of Lahar?" the child asked.

"No honey. It's because people are getting hurt, okay?" Lexi nodded and hugged her mother again, tighter this time. "It'll be okay. I'm gonna ask the Thunder Legion to come with me."

"Is that what you were discussing with Laxus?" Freed asked.

"Yes it was," the scarlet-tipped blonde said, handing the file out to the Rune Mage. "I'd like it if you guys could come."

"I'm in," Bickslow said immediately, raising his hand.

"Same," Evergreen said as Freed looked over the file.

"Are you sure? You didn't even look it over," Rose pointed out.

"Doesn't matter. If you didn't think you'd need us, you wouldn't be asking us," Bickslow said with a shrug.

"I concur," Freed said with a nod.

"Alright. Then how about I call Chief Marshal Lahar tonight and get the details and we meet here first thing in the morning?" Rose suggested.

"That sounds agreeable," Freed said, handing the file back as Sonya came down the stairs with Erika strapped to her back.

"You guys going on a job?" she asked as she neared the table.

"Yea. Which does bring me to a question, Sonya," Rose said.

"Sure. Need me to watch Lexi?"

"Actually, Laxus said he could watch her," Rose explained.

"What?!" The two women turned to see Mirajane looking at them incredulously.

"Yea, my brother is gonna take care of Lexi for a bit. Got a problem with that, She-Devil?" the scarlet-tipped blonde snapped.

"Laxus has the parenting skills of a toaster, at best," she said.

"How would you know that?" Sonya asked.

"Because he is! He has no experience with kids!" Sonya and Rose groaned as the Thunder Legion rolled their eyes.

"And you do?" Mira stood tall and walked around the bar.

"Not to brag or anything, but I'd consider myself an expert on babies and children. I've read every book on development, parenting, care and genetics I could get my hands on."

"Sounds like she's bragging to me," Sonya muttered.

"Wait, why genetics?" Rose asked.

"To see who would make the cutest babies!" the white-haired barmaid cheered, clasping her hands together. Rose rolled her eyes and sighed, noting how Bickslow stiffened slightly at Mira's words. "For example, Gray and Juvia would make the perfect couple! They're water and ice, after all. And he saved her from the rain that followed her from the day she was born! Little black-haired, blue-eyed babies! Or blue-haired, gray-eyed babies!"

"Mira!" Sonya barked, snapping the barmaid out of her fantasy land.

"What?"

"Do you even hear yourself?! Juvia stalks Gray! That's not love at all! It's a huge sign that she needs help! Have you been encouraging her to keep following him and going after him?"

"Of course. Gray feels the same way to Juvia, he just has a hard time showing it," Mira said with a smile.

"No he does not! I know for a fact that there have been many times where Gray has said he does not have an interest in Juvia that way! It's a mentally and emotionally unhealthy relationship. How can you even think this was a good idea?!" Sonya demanded.

"For the babies!" Mira cheered again. Sonya let out a growl as Rose continued to comb through Lexi's hair with her fingers, the mother's gray eyes flicking between her fingers and Bickslow's tense muscles.

"Anyone else you've paired up in that crazy head of yours?" Rose asked.

"Happy and Carla, Cana and Bickslow, Lucy and Natsu, Max and Laki, Wendy and Romeo, Freed and Evergreen," Mira reported, counting the couples on her fingers and flat-out ignoring the horrified looks Evergreen and Freed shot at her.

"What? Why?!" Evergreen snapped, looking anywhere but at Freed, who was looking greener than his hair.

"Well you both work together, you're both serious and you both look up to Laxus. And brown-haired, blue-eyed babies! Or green-haired, gray-eyed babies!"

"Mirajane, please understand I don't think of Evergreen in such a way!" the Rune Mage objected.

"Oh come on, no need to hide it," Mira giggled.

"The most I think of her is that she's like my younger sister!" he cried, his voice cracking slightly.

"Seriously Mira, that's just messed up," Bickslow shuddered. "Seriously, it would be like if you thought Elfman and Lisanna would make cute babies together."

"I think Elfman and Evergreen would make cute babies," Lexi declared. Rose looked down at her daughter as Evergreen went red in the face.

"Why's that honey?"

"They worked together during the S-Class trials, right? And he fought with Freed and Bickslow in her place against Grimwore Heart, right? So he trusts her, she trusts him and he works well with her teammates," the child said in a matter-of-fact tone. Mira came over smiling but Sonya could smell the nervous sweat breaking out on the woman's neck.

"Uh…Lexi, sweetie. It's not just about trust. It's also about how it looks."

"Why?" Lexi asked.

"Well, no one wants to be ugly. So it wouldn't be fair if people made their babies ugly," Mira explained. Lexi blinked a few times.

"Hey, any man would be lucky to have a kid with me!" Evergreen declared, standing up.

"Yea, Miss Evergreen's pretty. And Elfman looks nice too. Their babies would look cute," Lexi spoke up. Rose chuckled a little.

"Spikey, wavy, pale-brown hair, glasses, skin mixing between Elfman and Evergreen, two different colored eyes…" Immediately after the words passed her lips, Mira shuddered and Sonya let out another snarl.

"I don't need glasses to see Mira!" Evergreen objected. "They're a safety measure so I don't turn people to stone every time I look at someone!"

"That's just a terrifying idea," Mira said with another shudder.

"Unless you developed some form of divination abilities, shut the hell up," Sonya snarled, causing Mira to look at her. "I can't believe you're so concerned over something as trivial as appearance as opposed to your brother's happiness. If he and Evergreen like each other, they should be free to like each other. Whether or not that ends up in marriage, is not and should not be the biggest concern. It should be how they help each other improve as people and how happy they are together."

"Well, yea of course," Mira said. "But the babies should also be a consideration."

"Do you hear yourself when you talk?" Sonya asked.

"What's going on down here?" Everyone snapped around to see Laxus coming down the stairs.

"Oh, nothing. Just the She-Devil informing us of who she thinks should be with whom in the Guild," Rose reported. Laxus shot a glare at the white-haired barmaid.

"Mira, your job is to man the bar, not play match-maker. So I'd suggest getting back to work." he snapped as he neared the table. Mira stomped back to the bar, grabbed a rag and began furiously wiping at a spot. "Geez, what brought that on?"

"Apparently she believes you have the parenting skills of a toaster at best," Rose said.

"She's probably right in that context," Laxus admitted. Lexi wrapped her arms around her uncle's waist.

"I think you'd be a good daddy," she said, earning her a smile as Laxus mussed the girl's red hair.

"Well, because you don't have a lot of experience, I asked Sonya if she'd help you out while I'm working," Rose said, placing a hand on her brother's arm.

"Thanks Rose. And thanks to you as well Sonya." The caramel-haired woman shrugged.

"No biggie. But question, think I could bring Erika with me? It doesn't feel right leaving her with Kinana all the time."

"Sure," Laxus said with a nod. "But I don't have a lot of kid-friendly stuff in my house. Is that a problem?"

"Well, Lexi can bring her own clothes and toys," Rose said. "Erika though."

"Yea, we might need to go to the store for a few things," Sonya said before the doors opened again.

"Morning!" Lucy called as she and Michelle came into the Hall.

"Morning Lu!" Sonya called. "Morning Michelle, sleep well?"

"Very well, thank you," Michelle said as she removed her shawl and Lucy shut the doors.

"You guys talking about something?" Lucy asked as the two neared.

"I'm going on a job for the Counsel with the Thunder Legion and Laxus is gonna take care of Lexi," Rose reported.

"Oh? What job?"

"It's confidential," Freed spoke up quickly. "My apologies."

"No it's fine. I understand," Lucy said.

"So if they're fine on their job, why don't you help us with taking care of Lexi?" Sonya asked, looking to the Alpha as Lucy looked at Michelle.

"Michelle and Daphne can come too," Laxus said quickly. "I'd hate to be rude to your guys' guests."

"Really?" Michelle said, her hands clasping together as she beamed. "Oh thank you Laxus!"

"That actually brings me to another topic we wanted to discuss with you," Lucy said, stepping forward. "Michelle will be staying with me and we were wondering if she could have a job here."

"Sure. We could use a little more help at the bar," the blonde male said.

"Thanks Laxus, so if we sleep at our own homes and meet up at yours, when would be okay to start arriving by?" Lucy asked.

"I was actually going to say it will be right if you wanted to stay at my house with me for a night or two," Laxus offered. Lucy's eyes widened slightly as Sonya smiled.

"Fine by me," Sonya said with a shrug. "But before you came in, we were talking about going to the store to pick up some stuff for Erika to keep at Laxus' house."

"That sounds like fun. Mind if we tag along?" Lucy asked.

"Sure. Why not?" Laxus said with a shrug.

"Wait, but don't you have paperwork?" Michelle asked.

"I did plenty of it this morning and last night. If Gramps has a problem with me taking some time off after that, he can take it up with my stiff back," Laxus sighed.

"Well, once we get the stuff and get it back to your place, I can help you with that," Sonya chuckled before she headed upstairs to pack Erika's diaper bag.

"Alright. Then in that case, I'll drop her off at your place at seven tomorrow?" Rose asked, wrapping her arms around her daughter.

"I can pick her up," Laxus said with a shrug. Lexi let out a little cheer.

 

Rai stretched out his small front legs on the warm stone of the fireplace before him as the distinct rumble of the Charioteer's engine came to a stop outside the house. The red-orange remains of the fire popped and hissed as Laxus opened his door and came inside, carrying a large box with a picture of a crib on the front.

"Need any help?" the Exceed offered.

"Nah, we got it. How was your hunt this morning?" Laxus asked as he set the box down in the living room as Sonya came in carrying Erika in a papoose, the diaper bag, and a few shopping bags. Daphne followed after the caramel-haired woman, carrying more bags containing a few stuffed animals, toys and books. Michelle had a few bags of groceries and Lucy was the last one to come in, carrying another box with a picture of a changing table on the front. Each of the girls had an overnight bag as well.

Each girl put their overnight bags down by the door as they entered. Sonya and Michelle put their bags down in the kitchen as Laxus opened the crib box and began taking the pieces and parts out. Lucy set her box against the wall before coming over to help the Lightning Dragon Slayer organize the pieces. Daphne went upstairs with her bags to put them in the guest room.

"It was fine. Is something going on?" Rai asked as he came over and rubbed his cheek on Lucy's knee, earning a scratch behind the ear.

"Well, Laxus is going to be taking care of Lexi for a little bit," Lucy explained. "And since Sonya has babysat her before, she's gonna help him out. I figured I could help as well. Daphne and Michelle are gonna join us as well since they're our guests. And Sonya felt kinda bad leaving Erika with Kinana all the time so she'll be staying with us sometimes. But in order for her to stay, we needed a few things to be kept here first."

"Ah, I see," Rai said with a nod as Sonya came over. The caramel-haired woman pet the Exceed's head once and then looked over the pieces.

"Shouldn't we do this up in the room it's gonna be in?" she asked.

"Yea, probably," Laxus muttered as he found the instructions and began looking it over, almost immediately looking confused. "How the hell do you read this?" Sonya let out a chuckle as she and Lucy put the pieces back in the box.

"You figure that part out, we'll take this stuff up to the guest room-"

"Lexi's staying in there. Put it in the Master bedroom," Laxus interjected, earning him a slight smile from Sonya.

"Alright. We'll take this and the changing table to the master bedroom and then we'll all work on assembling it, okay?" Lucy said. Laxus nodded and the girls headed upstairs with the boxes. Rai hopped up onto Laxus' shoulders and laid across them. Michelle paused as she began pulling the groceries out of the bags and glanced at the Lightning Dragon Slayer.

"Got something you want to say?" the blonde male asked as he glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Actually, I was wondering if I could bend your ear?" she asked.

"What's up?" he asked as he stood and came over to put the groceries away.

"I was wondering how your Guild receives its jobs. Do people pay for their requests to be considered?"

"Sometimes. It depends on the job. Firstly people have to pay the Magic Counsel a certain amount depending on the job. Local jobs are paid directly to the Guild itself. Sometimes the Counsel will make a request so they won't have to pay for it. Sometimes Rune Knights and their families use the Counsel in order to avoid paying for certain jobs. And sometimes Masters will send requests to other Guilds without involving the Counsel."

"I see," Michelle observed.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, Lucy and I are both curious about the memento her father left her. So I was hoping to put in a request."

"I see," Laxus said. "Well, I'd say bring it to Fairy Tail when you can. If we need to, we can send a request to some of the Guilds Gramps is close with and see if any of them can help us."

"Thank you," Michelle said. Laxus offered her a slight smile before heading up the stairs with the instructions to assemble the crib.

 

"Mommy?" Rose turned from her packing to see Lexi standing in her bedroom doorway.

"Yea sweetie?" the mother asked as she picked up her child. The small redhead snuggled into her mother's shoulder.

"Can you tell me about Daddy?" she asked. Rose sighed slightly and sat down on her bed, stroking her daughter's hair.

"Lexi, is it because of Lahar showing up last night?"

"No. It's just…We finally got Uncle Laxus back. What if Daddy comes back?"

"He might. I don't know. Listen baby, I don't know what your father did with his life after he left. If he'd been arrested, he might be in those files the Counsel has. If he is, I might be able to find him. Okay?" Lexi nodded.

"But I still wanna know more about Daddy." Rose let out a chuckle.

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"What was his favorite food?"

"Berries. Specifically blueberries. He'd grab them by the handful whenever we went walking together and stuff them in his mouth just like you do." Lexi giggled as her mother tickled her belly. "And when he was deep in thought, or when I tickled him, his ears would wiggle, just like yours!"

"Mommy!" Lexi cried as she struggled to escape her mother's tickling, turning her head away, revealing the small twitches of the tips of her ears.

"What?" Rose asked as she pulled her hands away. Lexi took a couple minutes to catch her breath.

"Do you think he'll like me if we find him?" the child asked after a bit. For half a second, Rose's smile vanished and her eyes widened before she clutched her child to her chest.

"Baby. If your father is anything like I remember, he'll love you the minute he meets you."

"You sure?"

"I'm certain," Rose said before kissing her daughter's forehead. "Anything else you want to know?"

"You said Daddy looks like me?"

"Yea. His hair is just spiky, it stands up everywhere. And his eyes aren't gray. They're violet."

"What else did he like?"

"He liked it when I'd share stuff I learned with him. When I'd tell him about things I read in books or that Bartholomew taught me," Rose said.

"What stuff did you tell him about?"

"Music, snakes, herbs and their uses, biology, history and psychology."

"Can you teach me?" Lexi asked.

"How about when I get back, we talk to Uncle Laxus and Miss Lucy about getting you into some lessons as well, okay?"

"Alright. But why would you learn about snakes?"

"Because Daddy always had this big purple snake with him, she was our best friend aside from each other," Rose explained.

"Can I get a pet snake?" Rose burst into laughter.

"How about after I get home, we talk about it, okay?" Lexi sighed.

"Okay."

"Now, time for bed sweetie," Rose said as she set her daughter down. Lexi hurried over to the door, paused and turned around.

"What was the snake's name?" the child asked.

"Her name was Cubelios."


	24. Chapter 24

Lucy stretched out her tired limbs as she awoke. The spaces next to her were empty. A mouth-watering smell wafted up from the kitchen and Lucy could guess where Sonya had gone but no other smells or sounds gave any indication on Laxus' whereabouts. The blonde Celestial Wizard looked around the room.

Laxus' bed was in a corner. The nightstand was right next to it, displaying an alarm clock and lamp. At the foot of the bed, Laxus and Sonya had situated Erika's crib and the infant was still sleeping away peacefully. There were two doors in the room, one leading to Laxus' Master bathroom and the other leading into the hall. Lucy had been put in charge of setting up Erika's changing table next to the bathroom door. In the corner opposite the bathroom door was the door leading to the hall and the final corner housed Laxus' dresser and wardrobe.

Lucy quietly made her way out of the bed and slipped into the hall. Only one other door was closed in the hall as she crept by, headed towards the stairs. Daphne had been called back to work by the Rune Knights just as everyone was about to settle in for the night. She'd immediately packed up and left, promising to be back once her work was done, leaving Michelle as the only one of Laxus' guests who hadn't slept in his room last night.

Down in the kitchen, Sonya was poking at something frying in a pan with Rai laying on the counter watching her.

"Morning Lucy," Sonya called over her shoulder as she pulled one of her concoctions from the pan, placed it on a plate and set it on the counter for Lucy to eat.

"Morning Sonya. What ya making?" the blonde Celestial Wizard asked.

"Bacon-wrapped avocado eggs," Rai answered. The name alone made Lucy's mouth water as she looked down at the egg Sonya had set aside for her.

"Thank you!" Lucy cheered before pressing a kiss to Sonya's cheek. The other Celestial Wizard giggled and reached a hand back to gently place against Lucy's side.

"I hope you like it," she said sweetly as Lucy grabbed the plate, a knife and fork and sat down at the table.

"So where's Laxus?"

"He's picking up Lexi," Sonya answered as she pulled a few more bacon-wrapped eggs from the pan, set them off to the side and then replaced them with more. "He should be back soon, unless he's also dropping her and his team off at the train station."

"I see," Lucy said as she cut into the egg. The yolk was still liquid and spilled out onto the plate as she cut through the crunchy bacon and soft avocado. She cut off a small piece and popped it into her mouth. Warmth flooded into her body as she chewed the food and swallowed, goose flesh popping up on her arms at the sensation. "This is really good!" she cried before taking another bite.

"Thank you," Sonya said before Laxus' telltale entrance of a roll of thunder rattled the shutters. Sonya let out a light sigh of mild irritation. "One day he's gonna break something with that entrance of his if he hasn't already." Lucy let out a little giggle as Laxus came in, carrying a dozing Lexi. The child was covered in a blanket and was resting her head on her uncle's shoulder. She was bundled up in her jammies, snow pants, a thick coat, gloves, a scarf and pair of snow boots. Laxus held a small suitcase and Lexi's pink backpack in the hand not being used to support his niece.

"What do I smell?" he asked as he kicked his boots off and set Lexi's bags on the floor next to the counter.

"Bacon-wrapped avocado eggs," Sonya replied as she pulled the last eggs from the pan, set them on a plate, turned off the oven and set the pan on a cool part of the stove before setting the plate of eggs on the table. Laxus looked between the finished eggs, the one Lucy was eating and then to Sonya.

"Are you serious?" he asked.

"Yes we are," Lucy said before spearing another bite.

"Who's idea was this?" he asked as he unbundled his niece until she was in her pink pajamas and fuzzy socks. The tiny redhead snuggled more into her uncle's neck.

"Sonya's," Lucy said before putting her bite in her mouth.

"Woman I freaking love you," he said as he wrapped Lexi back up in her blanket and sat her at the table before taking a seat himself. Sonya chuckled before kissing Laxus' cheek and sitting down. Rai hopped onto the table and laid down in the center.

"If you love her for how it sounds and smells, you'll adore her at the taste," Lucy said before placing one egg on Lexi's plate and Laxus took two eggs. The blonde female chuckled as Sonya also took two of the delicacies. "Question, is it normal for Dragon Slayers to eat a lot?" she asked.

"Yes, very normal," Sonya said with a nod. "Let me illustrate this for ya, Dragons, even the runts, are meant to be roughly the size of the old Guild Hall. A healthy Dragon can be twice that size. Dragon Slayers are meant to kill those. And Dragon scales are extremely tough even on their 'soft' underbellies. Those underbelly scales could shatter steel."

"Are you serious?" Lucy asked.

"Which is why many Dragon Slayers worked in squads of eight or nine at a time. And it took a whole squad to take down a Dragon," Sonya explained as she took a bite.

"Really?" Laxus asked. Sonya nodded. "So with Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy, you and I, there's five Dragon Slayers in Fairy Tail."

"Nearly enough for a squad," Sonya reported. "Sting and Rogue would make seven if they joined us."

"What are those two like anyway?" Lucy asked. Sonya shrugged.

"Rogue's fine. Kinda quiet. But he's polite to me at least. Sting started out okay, but now he's just an ass, plain and simple," she said before taking a bite.

"I see. And those are the only Dragon Slayers out there?" Laxus asked.

"Well…I think there was talk in the Counsel at one point including someone named…Conner? No…It has something to do with a snake and it's on the tip of my tongue," Sonya muttered.

"Cobra," Lucy said. "A member of the Oracion Seis. He's a Poison Dragon Slayer, apparently."

"Poison?" Sonya asked.

"Yea he had this giant snake. Natsu is the one who fought him and he said the snake could spit a poison cloud and fly," the blonde female reported.

"That sounds cool," Lexi yawned as she took a bite. Laxus hummed.

"That sounds pretty scary," Sonya said.

"You're telling me. When I saw the guy after the fight…Ugh his arms…they were all scaly and red and the underside was milky-colored." Sonya let out a hum at Lucy's words.

"Interesting," she said. "I've never heard of Dragon Slayers having two-colored scales before."

"I don't know. Maybe it's because he's Second Generation?" Lucy suggested.

"What?" Laxus asked.

"Natsu, Gajeel, Wendy and Sonya are First Generation Dragon Slayers who were raised by Dragons. You and Cobra are Second Generation because you got your powers from Dragon Lacrimas," Lucy reported.

"And Sting and Rogue were both raised by Dragons and have Dragon Lacrimas implanted in them," Sonya spoke up. "Making them Third Generation hybrids."

"Third Generation…" Laxus muttered.

"Yea. But don't try asking them anything about their Dragons," Sonya said, her mood darkening as she stabbed another bite.

"Why?" Laxus asked.

"Because Sting and Rogue butchered their Dragon Parents in order to become 'True Dragon Slayers' as they dubbed it," she snapped before taking a bite. Lucy and Laxus paused in their eating and stared at the caramel-haired woman with wide eyes.

"Can I have a glass of juice please?" Lexi asked, raising a hand. Sonya stood up and went over to the refrigerator and got the child a glass of juice.

"Wow," Laxus breathed.

"Yea, you're telling me," she said as she sat back down and finished off her eggs. The table became quiet for a few moments before Michelle came over with a yawn.

"Good morning," she said, rubbing at her left eye.

"Morning Michelle," Sonya called. "Hungry?"

"Starving," the girl said as she sat down and began eating an egg with gusto. "So what're we planning today?" she asked, mouth full of food but at least she had the decency to cover her mouth with a napkin.

"Chew or talk, it's not hard," Lucy scolded.

"Well, Michelle stated she was curious about your father's memento, so I figured maybe we could take a look at it at the Guild," Laxus said.

"Really?" Lucy asked, looking between Michelle and Laxus.

"Well, it was wrapped up but it was inside a case that was cushioned," Michelle said quickly in explanation.

"Yea…That is weird," Lucy hummed thoughtfully.

"And the best part is; at the Guild, if we don't understand it, there's likely someone who does!" Sonya declared.

"Likely," Laxus agreed. "So is that our plan?"

"Sure, and I know there's not gonna be a lot of people at the Hall today, so maybe we can bring some paperwork down to get that out of the way," Sonya suggested.

"I'm good with that," Lucy added.

"Sounds like we have our plan," Laxus said as he got up and cleared his plate. Lucy came over to help him with the dishes. "Lexi, how about you take your things up to the guest room and get dressed, okay?"

"Okay," Lexi chirped before taking her empty plate to her uncle and hurrying up the stairs with her bags.

"In that case, I'll go get Erika," Sonya said as she cleared her own plate.

"And once we finish this, we'll go get dressed," Lucy concluded as she dried the dishes.

"Yep."

 

Rose checked her ticket and slipped into her assigned compartment, the members of the Thunder Legion following her into the space. All four placed their bags in the intended space before sitting down. Freed shut the door as the train began to move.

"Rose?" Evergreen asked. The scarlet-tipped blonde smiled somewhat sadly as she looked out the window.

"It's nothing. Just, missing my baby," she sighed before opening the file of the church fires. "So you guys want to know the specifics of our job?"

"Sure," Bickslow said with a shrug. "Tell us! Tell us!" the babies cheered as they spun in the air.

"Well, someone has been setting fire to Zentopian churches. The reports in this file are all the same. No suspects, no witnesses, every situation is the same. First the church burns, then it collapses, then it corrodes like someone put acid on it."

"A rather sadistic hobby," Freed muttered as he shook his head.

"And the pay?" Evergreen asked. Rose bit her lip.

"Lahar offered me the paternity tests he had done on various prisoners with Lexi's DNA and not just the tests but also any evidence they ever existed. But once we finish, I can pay you myself," Rose said plainly.

"No way," Bickslow said. "Look, you're Laxus' little sister and this is important. If one matches, the Counsel could use that as evidence to lock you up. So we'll do it for you and Lexi."

"I agree. Besides, Lahar had no business testing your daughter's DNA against anyone without your consent. This is merely righting that wrong while also attempting to find out who is setting the church fires," Freed said with a slight smile.

"Two birds, one stone," Evergreen agreed. Rose smiled.

"Thanks you guys," she said. Bickslow chuckled, his tongue flopping out of his mouth.

"Not a problem," he said. "No problem! No problem!" the babies echoed. The more simply-designed one came over and nuzzled her. Rose giggled.

"Hey Bicks, I have a question," she said.

"Yea?"

"This may sound totally rude, but which baby is which? I know their names but which one is which?"

"Papa is the one with the green unibrow, Pepe is the one with red around the eyes and kinda shocked look to the mouth, Pipi is the one with the big green nose, Popo is the one with red near the eyes and the teeth showing, and Pupu is the one you've got with you," he explained, pointing to each one in turn.

"Thanks," she said, nuzzling Pupu. "Where did the names come from?"

"My mother came from a long line of Seith Wizards and she taught me some words in a dead language and I named them what they are. Among Seith Wizards and their families, that dead language is called the Tongue. The Tongue binds us to our Magic, kinda like how contracts work with Lucy and Sonya. A Seith Wizard is meant to protect the living, keep justice, bring peace to the dead and help souls move on and the Tongue helps with that. But if a Seith Wizard doesn't do as they're supposed to, we lose our ability to use the Tongue," he explained.

"I see. So you're helping these guys move on?" she asked.

"Yea. It's a little tough right now. The Counsel believes Seith Wizards are abominations and when my mother was a kid they had this whole 'registration' thing happen. Seith Wizards needed to come in and register who they were, where they lived, the spirits currently with them and that kind of thing. Not a single one of those Wizards came back out. So my mom taught me what to do in secret and told me to claim to be a Telekinetic Mage. As a result of the Counsel's choice, it's difficult to completely understand what I can do."

"Are you serious?" Rose asked. Bickslow nodded.

"Thankfully they bought it. And they believe I wear all this for kicks and giggles," he said, gesturing to his clothes.

"Wait, there's actual reason behind this madness?" Rose teased, poking at the skirt he wore.

"Yes. Ever heard of a poltergeist?" Rose nodded. "They're vengeful spirits of the dead, people who've died in horrific ways and want revenge on the living. But Seith Magic calls to them, draws them toward us like a magnet. Meaning we're the ones that are more likely to be possessed by them. Wearing all this and covering my face protect me from possession, or at least stall it. If a poltergeist were to try possessing me, grabbing me by the face, looking me in the eyes, entering through the chest or stomach would make possession easier to accomplish. So wearing this makes it harder for them as they have to get through all my clothes and my helmet in order to get to me."

"Interesting," Rose said with a nod. "Anything else you can tell me?" Bickslow smiled.

"Plenty."

 

Sonya sighed slightly as she sat down with Erika in one arm and a few paperwork forms in front of her.

"How does Natsu cause this much damage?" she sighed heavily as she looked over the damage report.

"No idea," Laxus muttered.

"By deciding his fight is more important than innocents being put in harm's way, that's how," Lucy snipped harshly as she continued to scribble out a letter of apology. Sonya rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"At this rate, he'll be a bigger menace than Dark Guilds," the caramel-haired Wizard muttered.

"Agreed," Laxus said with a nod as he set aside a finished page. He cast a glance at the bar where Lexi was seated and Michelle and Kinana were working. "Question for you two."

"Yes?" Lucy asked as Sonya hummed to show her acknowledgement.

"Can either of you think of something we can do to entertain Lexi? I don't know how long Rose will be on this little job so…" Sonya let out another hum.

"Well, the zoo has indoor exhibits for the wintertime so we could go there. She loves animals. Then there's a few at-home experiments I'm sure we could do," the caramel-haired Wizard offered.

"Home experiments?" Lucy asked.

"Naked egg, penny boat, the list goes on. Really there's plenty of fun DIY stuff we can try," Sonya said with a shrug.

"Does Lexi really like that kind of thing?" Laxus asked.

"She loves it. Hands-on stuff is her forte," the Celestial Dragon Slayer replied.

"If you say so," the blonde male sighed. "Maybe we'll go to the zoo tomorrow then."

"Maybe you should ask her if there's something she wants to do," Sonya suggested.

"Ah!" Michelle let out a little shriek before she fell onto the floor, her platter of dishes and food falling around her. Lucy leapt to her feet and rushed over as Michelle began bawling, apologizing profusely.

"Michelle are you okay?" she asked as she helped the other girl sit up.

"Yes. I'm sorry! I didn't mean to cause any trouble!" she sobbed.

"Michelle, no one's mad at you, it was an accident," Lucy assured, patting Michelle's shoulder. The sandy blonde wiped at her eyes and sniffled.

"But…still…"

"It's not a problem Michelle, really. It's only your first day, there's bound to be plenty of mistakes. You're okay," Lucy said gently as she helped Michelle stand up. The sandy-blonde girl sniffed and wiped at her eyes again as the golden-blonde woman picked up the tray and handed it back.

"Sorry," Michelle whimpered as she and Lucy bent down and picked up the dishes.

"No need to keep apologizing. The dishes are wood so they're not gonna shatter on impact with the floor and it was obviously an accident." Sonya reclined in her chair some and smiled as she and Laxus watched the two interact before the caramel-haired Wizard turned to her Mate.

"Laxus, I understand as much as the next person that Lucy's ass looks incredible but if you keep staring, you're likely to get slapped," she warned quietly. The blonde male turned towards her with a look of surprise before he schooled his expression and picked up another piece of paperwork. The Celestial Dragon Slayer chuckled as Makarov came over.

"Laxus, I have something for you to do," the old man said.

"Aside from all this paperwork?" he asked, gesturing to the massive pile on the table. Makarov pulled a piece of paper from his cloak.

"Yes. I need you to go here tonight. You'll meet someone there and you'll need to talk to them about what they know." Laxus took the paper and looked at it. There was a small lightning bolt on top of a Fairy Tail symbol, connected to a thin black line that ended at a star. "That lightning bolt represents you. It'll move as you do."

"You are aware I'm taking care of Lexi, right?" Laxus asked, folding up the page.

"Yes. But Sonya and Lucy can take care of her for a couple hours, right?" the old man asked.

"Sure we can," Sonya said with a shrug.

"Great. Keep up the good work kids!" Makarov cheered before he headed to the bar to spend some time with his great-granddaughter.

"That old man is going to drive me up a freaking wall," Laxus ground out as his grand sire began cooing over how pretty Lexi's drawing was.

"Maybe," Sonya chuckled.

 

Rose sighed as the train pulled into the station. The train's stopping signaled the end of Bickslow's talk of Seith Magic. He'd made the day-long trip seem like moments with his talk of how he could detect souls, exorcism techniques for poltergeists, and they'd had a discussion of how various parts of a soul could, in theory, foretell the future of the person.

Rose and the Thunder Legion quickly grabbed their bags and left the car. On the platform stood Lahar with a few frog-men standing nearby like guards. One with blue-tinted skin and a face shaped more like a lizard than a frog earned Rose's heated glare.

"Miss Dreyar thank you for your willingness to assist us," Lahar said with a bow.

"Didn't I tell you to gut and fry that one?" Rose asked, jabbing her chin at the frog-man in question. Lahar looked and stood up straight, pushing his glasses up his nose.

"We investigated the issue in question and found no significant evidence as to the accusations you leveled against him," the Knight said in a matter-of-fact tone as if he were talking to a child. Rose narrowed her eyes at the man.

"Torturing prisoners, not feeding them, humiliating them, basically so he could get a little laugh or two? And you found no evidence? I wonder what would happen if I looked at that evidence myself. Maybe you and the rest of the Counsel should get your eyes checked once you get your heads out of your asses!" she snapped. Lahar looked around at the people starting to look at them.

"If you would be so kind as to keep your voice down."

"Or what? Don't want your precious Counsel's name being associated with torture of people?!" Rose asked in an elevated voice, making more people stare. Some started whispering and Lahar clenched his jaw slightly.

"Shall we go then?" he asked before turning away. Rose glared at the man's back before following him. Once they were off the platform, the frog-man in question came up and grabbed Rose's arm.

"Try pulling that again, and I'll make sure you're put in your place," he hissed in her ear. Rose turned to bare her teeth. Her arm jerked and the frog-man let go with a croak of panic. Rose snapped around to see Bickslow twisting the creature's arm behind his back.

"What's going on here?" Lahar barked, turning towards the scene.

"Oh, nothing much. Just doing what any person with morals would do when seeing someone placing their hands on another person in a sexual manner that's not consensual," Bickslow said with a grin. The frog-man croaked again.

"Is that what happened?" Lahar asked, turning to Rose. The scarlet-tipped blonde smiled.

"Yea. He grabbed at my breast and threatened to rape me," she said with a smirk towards the frog-man.

"No! I did no such thing!" he croaked.

"If that is truly the case, then how is it that I saw that very same thing?" Freed asked, stepping forward.

"I as well and we're walking behind you, frog-man," Evergreen said, snapping her fan open and beginning to fan herself. Lahar glowered at the frog-man.

"In that case, we'll take him into custody," the Knight said, pushing his glasses up his nose again. Two other frog-men came over and took their companion from Bickslow, who wrapped an arm around Rose's shoulders. Lahar looked between the two before turning and continuing on his way.

"Thanks for that you guys," Rose whispered once there was some distance between Lahar and the Thunder Legion.

"No problem," Bickslow said with a tongue-flopping grin.

"May I ask what that was about?" Freed asked.

"I caught that frog-man treating inmates like trash. Everything you can think of; making them eat like dogs, beg and plead for scraps, withheld food, used his staff to electrocute them when they weren't resisting, would have them cover themselves in their own feces and urine, and nearby killing some of them. I tried to get the Counsel involved but my report got 'lost in the system' which I call pure bullshit," Rose explained.

"Disgusting," Evergreen sneered.

"You're telling me," Rose sighed as she rubbed her face with one hand. As the appendage came down, her fingertips brushed against Bickslow's, causing a small spark to fly between their skins. Rose looked up at Bickslow, who kept glaring at the group ahead of them as if nothing had happened. She smiled slightly and laid her hand on his, lightly gripping it.

"Oh! Sorry," Bickslow said as he tried pulling his arm away. Rose tugged it back into place and wrapped one arm around his waist.

"It's fine," she said, leaning her head on him. Her locket tapped against her chest as the group continued to walk. But guilt didn't weigh on her. If anything, each tap made her feel more and more like she was becoming weightless in the Seith Wizard's hold.

 

Laxus looked down at the paper and sighed in annoyance. The 'map' had brought him to the South Gate Park and he'd sat down on the bench the map indicated. There was no one there and it was the dead of night. A part of him was thinking he should just go home and help put Lexi to bed. It was his job and responsibility to take care of his niece, not dump her on Sonya and Lucy.

A sudden thump against his forehead brought Laxus out of his musings. Before him stood Gajeel, who was grinning widely.

"What the hell?" the blonde snapped.

"Don't blame me 'cause you weren't payin' attention, thunder-dolt," the Iron Dragon Slayer said before he sat down next to Laxus. "So I guess Master decided it was time ya learned."

"Learned what?"

"The fact that he's had me spying on your old man in Raven Tail since I joined." Laxus' eyes widened. He looked around and, seeing no one, looked back at the other Dragon Slayer.

"What?" he hissed.

"Yea. I just got back from there. Don't you worry your pretty blonde head about anything, I'm smarter than your old man. He ain't got a clue that I'm working as a double agent. But he trusts me."

"Even after being stuck on Tenrou Island?" Laxus asked.

"Ivan's used to not hearing from me for long periods of time. He wants me to pretend like, and I quote, 'my heart and soul belong to Fairy Tail'. So I don't check in for a while, I have the excuse of taking a job with some Fairies to go along with his wishes."

"I see," the blonde said as he leaned back on the bench.

"Truth be told, I actually knew about your sister around the time Fantasia happened. Ivan was constantly going on about her and how she'd create his great legacy. Heck, he was still going on about her and her baby when I went back."

"Somehow that makes me uneasy," Laxus muttered.

"Yea. Same. So I'd suggest keeping an eye on those two," Gajeel advised.

"Noted. Anything else?"

"I tried finding out who Lexi's father was. But Ivan's keeping that one locked up tight. But one thing he let slip was that he worked with a friend of Lexi's father and the poor guy now believes that Rose and Lexi are dead," the Iron Slayer sighed.

"What?"

"Tricked the poor guy with an illusion about six years ago. Ivan let me see it and it was fucked up. At the start, Rose and the baby weren't doing well without this Erik guy. He came to them and over two weeks, they got better. Then Ivan made up this group calling themselves the Crusaders to invade the place. One of them slipped past the battle and got to Lexi and Rose. The Crusader smashed Lexi's head against a wall until there was nothing left and slit Rose's throat. If that wasn't enough to get the poor bastard's blood boiling, Ivan had his illusion Crusader get ready to rape Rose as she was dying. According to Ivan, Erik ripped the Crusader off Rose and smashed his head into the wall to get justice for what happened to Lexi. Then he tried to get Rose some help but she 'died' in his arms." Laxus covered his mouth and rested his elbow on his knee. He knew his father was messed up, but even that seemed a bit much.

"I see," he said after a moment.

"You don't seem too surprised," Gajeel observed.

"We're talking about a man who has no problem gouging out the eyes of children he's raised in order to gain power. If the guy was in his way, he'd have gotten rid of him. One way or another. Better it be with a fucked up illusion like that over being six feet under right now I say," the blonde said. "Is that all?"

"Yea. That's all I managed to get for now." Laxus stood up and began walking away. "See you around." Laxus raised a hand to show he'd heard the man before stuffing his hands in his pockets as his thoughts overtook his mind and his feet moved on their own.

His father had crafted the brutal murder of his own daughter and granddaughter. Unbidden, the wild imagination he'd inherited from the Illusion Wizard kicked into high gear. Gajeel's description of the illusion echoed in his head and images played before his eyes.

He could only imagine the devastation Erik had experienced while being put through that kind of hell. Suddenly finding out he was a father, only to have his family murdered in front of him. If the necklace he'd left with Rose was any indication, he deeply cared for her.

Laxus paused outside his door as the thought arose in his mind of 'what if it was real?' What if that illusion hadn't been an illusion but the reality Rose had to live through while he'd been stuck on Tenrou? Despite only being home for little over a month, he couldn't imagine his life without his sister and niece. They meant the world to him and he'd only known of their existence for a few short months in his time.

Erik had known Rose since they'd been kids, they'd grown up together. At the very least, it would be as if he discovered Freed died in such a horrible manner.

The blonde shook his head to chase the thoughts away before he entered his home. The house was dark and quiet. He could hear breathing upstairs and made his way up to the rooms.

He peeked into his own room and smiled slightly to see Lucy and Sonya cuddled together in his bed with Rai in his smaller form curled up at the foot of the bed. Then he moved over to the guest room and looked inside to see his niece cuddling with her teddy bear in her bed. The blonde male came over and knelt next to the bed.

Lexi's long thumb nail was poking through her lips as she slept and occasionally, she'd move her mouth like a baby would to suck on their thumb. A small trail of drool was slipping from the corner of her lips onto the pillow. Her pretty red hair was splayed out over the pillow behind her and every now and again her ear would wiggle. To even consider the idea that this precious child's father thought she'd been murdered in a horribly painful way made Laxus' chest clench. He tried to slam the mental door on that idea, only for it to slip through and fill his mind with images that replaced his sister with Lucy and Sonya and an infant Lexi with some faceless baby.

The blonde male leaned forward and kissed his niece's forehead before he left the room and headed to his own. Rai stirred and awoke as Laxus got dressed for bed.

"You look as though you've seen a ghost," the Exceed observed.

"Just tired," he defended before he laid down beside his Mates. One hand slipped into the small space under their necks so they used his arm as a pillow as the other draped over their waists. He knew he wasn't going to sleep well, not with his imagination continuing to supply horrific images of his father's illusion involving his Mates and their imaginary babies instead of his sister and niece.

After a short while, Laxus slipped out of bed and went into the bathroom. He stripped out of his clothes with a speed that would make Gray jealous, turned on the shower to the coldest setting possible and let the water blast him in the face, chasing the images away. A shudder ran down his spine and he let out a sigh. He was definitely not sleeping tonight. Not with those images in his head.

He placed his hands on the tile of the shower and leaned on them slightly, letting the water run down his back.

He heard the door open and then heard the shower open and close before a small pair of hands wrapped around his middle, allowing a head and a long, now wet braid of hair to rest on his back, the nightgown being worn quickly becoming soaked and sticking to the backs of his thighs.

"You okay?" Sonya asked.

"I...Yea," he said slowly, another shudder running down his back. The caramel-haired woman sighed and Laxus felt her press a kiss to his back.

"Come back to bed and let's talk about it," she suggested as she pulled her hands away and slipped out of the shower. Laxus heard the wet sound of her nightgown hitting the floor before the bathroom door shut again. He sighed and turned off the water before stepping out and drying off. He draped Sonya's nightgown over the shower to let it dry before getting dressed again and heading into the room. Sonya was re-braiding her wet hair and had donned one of his old t-shirts. The garment dwarfed her as the hem came almost to her knees and the neck was nearly slipping off her shoulders.

Laxus came over and laid out next to the caramel-haired Wizard. She smiled at him as she laid on her side and looked him in the eye.

"What happened?"

"Apparently, under Gramps' orders, Gajeel has been playing double-agent, relaying information from Raven Tail to Gramps. And he found out something about Lexi's father, Erik," the blonde explained.

"Oh?"

"The poor bastard thinks Rose and Lexi have been dead for six years. And not just dead, they were murdered while he'd just reunited with them two weeks before. In a way that's honestly making my stomach churn." Sonya sighed and placed a hand on Laxus' shoulder.

"Let me guess, you started thinking what you'd do in that situation. If it wasn't Rose but Lucy or myself? And instead of Lexi, it was our baby?"

"How did you-" Sonya smiled slightly and taped his temple and then her own. "Oh right." The female giggled.

"Look, that's not going to happen. We're here and we have each other. Rose is with the Thunder Legion so she'll be fine. Don't worry okay? And about Erik, I'm sure that if he ever comes across Rose and Lexi, he'll realize what happened and be totally fine. That or have a nervous breakdown." Laxus couldn't help a slight chuckle.

"Thanks," he said.

"No problem. Oh. Just to inform you, Michelle went back to Lucy's apartment and Lexi is looking forward to the zoo tomorrow," she reported as she turned and cuddled into Lucy again. Laxus wrapped his arms around his Mates again and closed his eyes, almost immediately falling asleep.

 

A single, bright violet eye scanned over the pages before him, the dark bags underneath further adding to the hue. Tanned fingers pointed at the words as the man read, scars marring his wrists and arms. His right eye was sealed shut with a thin scar bisecting it. His pointed ears wiggled with every snore that echoed through the chambers, a small gold hoop hanging from each lobe. He was dressed in a pair of black pants and a long red shirt that looked more like a robe than a shirt that was held closed with a brown belt around his middle. Next to him lay a young woman with long white hair staring at him with bright blue eyes dressed in a short dress seemingly made from white feathers. A black cloak was draped over her like a blanket.

"Erik, come now. You must rest," she said, sitting up. Erik turned towards her before turning back to his book.

"There'll be time for rest later," he growled out in a gravelly voice. "Once we get them back, we'll be able to get all the rest we want Sorano." Sorano sighed. She slipped out from under the cloak and came over to wrap her arms around Erik's chest from behind.

"I know you wish to see them again. The time is coming when we shall. Our family will be whole again soon. But in order to achieve that we must perform to the best of our abilities. So come and rest."

"Let me finish here," he said as a compromise. Sorano chuckled and pulled the cloak back to them.

"How about you read to me? That might put us to sleep," she joked as she lay on the floor, draping the cloak over herself and Erik's lap. The end of Erik's lip lifted, warping his scar slightly as he began reading aloud.

 

Lexi was a giggly little thing as she skipped along the road between Laxus and Sonya. Lucy was walking a little ways ahead of them, eager to get home and check on Michelle before heading to the zoo. It was one of the rare warm winter days with temperatures in the sixties. And since most of the snow had melted, the animals should be out and about in their habitats.

Laxus had managed to get some sleep at least, although the images his imagination threw at him continued to plague him as he walked along the road.

"Can you guys swing me?!" Lexi cheered, looking up at the two adults holding her hands. Sonya looked at Laxus as he looked down at his niece and then at his Mate.

"Uh…"

"Just lift her up," Sonya said, beginning to pull on the seven-year-old's hand. Laxus did the same and the two lifted the child off the ground with a slight squeal of delight. After a few seconds, they set her back down and Lexi giggled.

"I'll just be a second you guys!" Lucy called as she hurried towards the door of her apartment building. Sonya and Laxus continued on at their sedate pace, continuing to lift Lexi every few steps. Her giggles echoed in the nearby canal.

As they came to the front of Lucy's building, Lexi became quiet and stared up at the second story.

"Lexi?" Sonya asked. The child let go of both their hands and raced inside.

"Hold on!" Laxus called as he hurried after his niece with Sonya quick behind him. The child froze just outside of Lucy's door, allowing for the two adults to catch up. Laxus looked inside the apartment and his eyes widened.

Lucy was bent over Michelle, her hands hovering over the prone girl as if afraid to touch her at all. The sandy blonde's face was ashen in color and she was sprawled on the floor. Hovering over Lucy's bed was the memento her father had sent. Only now the brass parts were covered in runes Laxus couldn't identify. The cloth that had been wrapped around it hung from various parts but gave it a haunted appearance.

"Keep her here," Laxus barked at Sonya before he hurried inside. Sonya did as told and picked Lexi up as the male checked over Michelle for injuries.

"Is she okay?" Lexi asked. Lucy looked at them and hurried towards them, both to give Laxus space to work and to be near another calming presence.

"I don't think she's injured," he said. "Let's get her to the Guild and have Wendy check on her. If she can't figure anything out, we might need to get her to Porlyusica."

"Right," Sonya said with a nod. Lucy smiled softly at Lexi.

"Sorry about the delay to our plans sweetie," she said.

"It's fine. We can go to the zoo whenever, so let's make sure Michelle's okay." Laxus smiled somewhat as he picked up Michelle. He'd half expected Lexi to be disappointed or even throw a tantrum about not being able to go to the zoo. Instead, she was calm and relaxed and reasonable.

He felt a little worse for this poor Erik guy. He'd been tricked for two weeks into being with an illusion version of his child and he hadn't been able to take part in watching Lexi grow into the young lady she was.

Once Michelle was settled in his arms, Laxus took hold of Sonya and Lucy to the best of his abilities and teleported the group to the Guild. Sonya immediately gave Lexi over to Lucy and opened the doors. Thankfully the Guild was mostly empty save for Kinana and Mira setting up at the bar and Makarov smoking his pipe.

"What happened?!" Mira cried.

"Just go get Wendy!" Laxus ordered as he hurried up to the infirmary. His hearing picked up on Mira's heels clicking towards the door and the rush of wind as she flew off to obey his order. As he settled Michelle in a cot, he could hear Kinana and his grandfather coming down the hall after the group.

"What happened?" Makarov asked as Sonya struggled to get one of her Keys out of the pouch on her hip.

"We found her like this in Lucy's apartment," Laxus reported as Lucy handed him his niece before hurrying to Michelle's side.

"Dad's memento was hovering in front of her and had all these glowing runes on it," the blonde female added as she took Michelle's hand.

"Perhaps some energy draining spell?" Makarov muttered thoughtfully.

"Wait. You mean like the Drain spell Aria used on you during our fight with Phantom?" Lucy asked.

"Perhaps. But I'd recommend not doing anything until Michelle wakes up and can explain what happened. So until then, Lucy, I'd avoid returning to your apartment." The blonde female nodded quickly.

"Now Lexi, what say you and I go get you something to warm you up?" Kinana asked as she came over and took the child from the male, taking her away from the infirmary. Makarov followed after them as Sonya finally managed to pull the Phoenix's Key from her pouch.

"Open, Gate of the Firebird! Phoenix!" The massive bird appeared in the side of Michelle's cot and flapped her wings a few times to keep her balance.

"You summoned mi'lady?" she asked.

"Yea. Michelle was passed out on the floor when we came by to check on her today. Can you look her over real quick?" The bird bowed her head and began looking Michelle over. Lucy sat back against the back of her chair and took a deep breath. Laxus placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to provide some form of comfort. Lucy placed a hand on top of his with a slight smile in thanks. Sonya smiled at the two of them for a moment before the Phoenix raised her head.

"It would seem as though, physically, she is perfectly fine and healthy. The only cause for concern is that it would seem that her energy has been completely drained."

"Is there anything you can do?" Laxus asked. The Phoenix turned to glare at him, which was surprisingly intimidating for a turkey-like bird.

"Oh of course I can! Why don't I also lay a golden egg while I'm at it?!" she demanded, flapping her wings indignantly. Sonya let out a little chuckle. "I repair physical damage, boy! Broken bones, collapsed lungs, torn muscles, dislocated ligaments and limbs! I am not a battery understand?!"

"Yes ma'am," Laxus said quickly. Lucy let out a little giggle.

"We already sent Mira to get Wendy, a Sky Dragon Slayer. We'll relay what you said when she gets here. Thanks Phoenix," Sonya said before she dismissed the bird. It only took a few moments for the Dragon Slayers to hear Mira coming back with Wendy. The clacking of Mira's heels on the wood made the two turn to look down the hall.

Mira had Wendy slung over her shoulder like a sack of flour and the small girl was holding down the skirt of her dress with her hair completely in disarray. One sandal was missing and Carla was flying behind the two, holding a hairbrush. Sonya's jaw dropped and her hand flew to cover it.

"Mira! What the hell?!" Laxus barked as the white-haired barmaid set the girl down at the foot of the cot.

"It's an emergency," the woman explained simply with a smile.

"Yea but you could at least let her finish getting ready," he objected.

"It's fine," Wendy said with a smile as she ran a hand over her hair in an attempt to calm it.

"Wendy. I summoned the Phoenix and she said Michelle is physically fine but she seems to have had her energy drained. Can you help us with that?"

"Of course," Wendy said with a smile. Sonya stepped to the side, allowing Wendy to step up to the sandy-haired girl and summon her Magic. Almost immediately, Michelle's color improved. Lucy's shoulders relaxed under Laxus' fingers. The blonde male gently squeezed the female's shoulders and she looked up at him with a relieved smile.

"Blonde-haired blue or brown-eyed babies!" Mira squealed, loud enough that all three Dragon Slayers assembled winced and covered an ear.

"What the hell Mira?!" Laxus roared as he shook his ringing head.

"I couldn't help myself," she giggled. Laxus and Sonya rolled their eyes.

"Mira, you need help," the caramel-haired Wizard muttered.

"Honestly, I can't believe it didn't appeal to me sooner," Mira giggled, completely ignoring Sonya's words. "Any little girls they have are gonna have Daddy wrapped around their baby fingers! Oh and those little boys! Lucy will have to beat the girls away with a stick!"

"We'll beat you away, Demon!" Laxus snapped.

"What the hell is your damage?" Sonya muttered.


	25. Chapter 25

It was night by the time Michelle woke up. Immediately, Lucy had her arms thrown around the girl. She'd remained by Michelle's side through the whole day as Laxus and Sonya alternated between keeping an eye on the two and being with Lexi. Sonya had made plans with Juvia to go on a job in the morning to take the caramel-haired Wizard's mind off the situation.

"Big sister?" Michelle asked as the blonde pulled away some.

"Michelle, are you okay?" Lucy asked as Sonya headed off to get Laxus.

"Yea. I'm a little tired though," the girl said softly. It took only a few minutes for Makarov, Laxus, and Sonya to come back into the room. The old man sat down on the edge of the cot.

"Tell me Michelle, what happened?" he asked as Sonya took a seat at the foot of the cot and Laxus stood behind Lucy.

"I was trying to get the memento out to bring it to the Guild this morning," Michelle explained with a yawn. "The wrapping slipped and I touched it then everything went black until I woke up here." Makarov nodded.

"I see. So apparently touching it without the wrapping causes all one's energy to be drained," he hummed thoughtfully.

"So what do we do about it?" Laxus asked,

"I'd say we should bring it here for safekeeping. We wouldn't want for Lucy to touch it by accident and risk her being put in a worse state then Michelle," the third Master answered.

"Okay. But there were runes on it when we left. Maybe if Levy can look at those she can figure out if they have anything to do with what happened to Michelle," Lucy said. Laxus gave the woman a wide-eyed look.

"Unfortunately she left with Shadowgear this morning for a job clear across Fiore," Sonya said solemnly.

"I see. In that case, I'll figure it out myself," Lucy declared.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Laxus snapped. "We've seen what this thing did to Michelle! Why the hell would you go near it again?!"

"Because my dad sent it to me for a reason!" Lucy snapped back. Makarov took that moment to leave the room. Sonya bit her bottom lip as she looked at her Mates continue to argue.

"He also sent Phantom Lord to Fairy Tail at one time!"

"He's changed since then!"

"Based on what? You hadn't seen him since Phantom! He could've easily put on an act to get on your good side! Outside of that, you haven't seen him in seven years!" Laxus snapped before turning to Sonya. "Will you say something to make her see reason? This thing is dangerous!"

"Don't drag her into this!" Lucy snapped.

"Both of you, quiet!" Sonya barked as she stood up. "Look. I would and would not advise against looking into this thing and why it was sent here. I would because we just saw what happened to Michelle by touching it. But for the same reason, I would not advise against looking into it because who know what will happen if we don't."

"Oh my word," Laxus growled.

"Aside from that, it's clear the both of you have very different ideas about this matter. And even with our link, there's gonna be rough patches, there's gonna be misunderstandings, there's gonna be arguments. And I've been holding your guys' hands for the last month since we found out we're a Pack." With that, the caramel-haired girl stood up and walked out of the room.

"Are you serious?" Laxus ground out.

"I'm sorry," Michelle said. "It seems like I'm causing trouble again." Lucy wrapped her arms around the other blonde female.

"No Michelle, you're not," she assured before shooting a glare at Laxus. The Dragon Slayer let out another snarl before he also stormed out of the room and down to the Guild. Lexi looked over from her seat at the bar as the man came over.

"Is Miss Michelle okay?" she asked.

"Yea, she's fine. Ready to go?" Lexi nodded and her uncle picked her up. Kinana watched as the male left with the child and a few moments later, Lucy left the Hall, helping Michelle walk out the doors. After the Hall closed for the night, the purple-haired woman headed upstairs.

Sonya was seated on the couch with Erika, a somber expression on her face.

"Everything alright?" the barmaid asked.

"Not at all," the caramel-haired Dragon Slayer sighed as she stood up and put the baby in her crib. "I can sense their anger at each other and my instincts are screaming for me to alleviate the situation."

"So why don't you?" Sonya locked eyes with her sister figure.

"Because of Mira and Erza."

"What do you mean?"

"The last time I was downstairs before Michelle woke up, I overheard them talking to each other. Erza wanted to know why Mira was suddenly on Laxus and Lucy's side with their relationship. Mira said that by using reverse psychology, they'd be able to get Lucy to see things their way."

"Are you serious?!" Kinana cried. Sonya nodded.

"So I'm letting Laxus and Lucy handle this one like any other ordinary couple. Because Mira and Erza need to realize that Laxus and Lucy belong together, despite it not being what they want for Lucy. Fate has spoken and her will shall be followed through one way or another."

 

"Here we go," Lucy said as she helped Michelle sit on the bed in her apartment. Lucy eyed the memento, still standing upright in the middle of the room.

"Sorry Big Sister," Michelle said as Lucy bent down to pull off the girl's shoes.

"Don't worry about it, Michelle. It was an accident. Laxus is just being a jerk," Lucy assured.

"But he's just trying to protect you, isn't he?"

"Yea, but I'm not a baby and I'm not stupid. I was perfectly fine touching the memento with the wrapping on it and what happened to you happened because you touched it without that wrapping. If he can't figure that I'm smart enough to know I shouldn't touch it, then he can bug off." Michelle remained silent as Lucy finished removing the girl's shoes. The blonde looked up to the other and smiled a little when she saw Michelle had in fact fallen asleep sitting up. Carefully, Lucy got Michelle under the blankets and went about the apartment cleaning up what she could. Once she was done, she grabbed some papers and a pencil before starting to copy the runes on the memento.

As she worked, the argument from earlier kept running through her mind over and over again. She knew Laxus didn't have a good relationship with his father. But that didn't excuse him throwing accusations at Jude. He'd never met her father. He had never seen the man Jude Heartfilia had been during Phantom nor had he seen the man at Acalypha like she had.

But then again, she could understand why he'd done so. He was remembering the place he'd grown up in being destroyed in the war with Phantom, his grandfather being put at death's door by Aria, and all because she'd run away from Jude Heartfilia. And now this mysterious object had arrived by Jude's dying request that had drained Michelle's energy simply by touching it. SO she could understand why Laxus wouldn't want her near it.

But her father had sent it and a relative to her, for what reason, she didn't know. But that was the exact reason why she had to figure this thing out. Why Laxus couldn't understand that was beyond her. But if he didn't see it the way she did, maybe she'd need to explain it to him next time she saw him.

Carefully, Lucy re-wrapped the thing in the wrappings and set it back in the case before she went off to go through her nightly ritual and go to bed.

 

"Sorry we didn't get to the zoo today," Laxus said as he tucked Lexi under her blankets.

"It's okay. We can go another day. Miss Michelle needed our help and that's important." Laxus ruffled his niece's hair, making her giggle.

"You're a great kid ya know that?"

"I know," Lexi said as she snuggled into the blankets. "Why were you and Miss Lucy fighting?"

"You heard that?" he asked. Lexi nodded.

"I wasn't trying to, but you guys were loud." Laxus nodded.

"It's adult stuff sweetie," he said. Lexi tilted her head.

"It sounded like you were fighting over what Miss Lucy's Daddy sent to her."

"Yes. But the reason is really grown-up. You probably wouldn't understand," Laxus said, immediately regretting his words as Lexi shot a narrowed-eye glare at him that reminded him of how his sister could glare at him with anger.

"How could you know that if you don't try explaining it?" she asked. Laxus sighed.

"Michelle touched the memento without the wrapping on it. And that's how she ended up the way she was today. Lucy wants to look into it despite knowing that."

"Shouldn't she?" Lexi asked. "It came from her Daddy. It was to help her remember him, like how my Daddy left Mommy the locket. Shouldn't we try figuring out what it is and why it does what it does?"

"Well, it's dangerous honey. What happens if Lucy or Sonya or someone else touches it by accident?"

"We'll just have to use the wrappings then. But other people don't know that about the memento, while we do. Wouldn't it be bad if they touched it without the wrappings by accident?" the child reasoned. Laxus blinked a few times and thought it over. She actually had a good point. He heard his niece giggle and he shot her a mock-glare.

"You've got a good point kid."

"Of course I do! I'm my Mommy's daughter!" Laxus chuckled and ruffled his niece's hair again.

"Love ya kid," he said before standing up. "Good night."

"Good night Uncle Laxus. Love you too!" Lexi cheered as he turned out the lights. He heard Lexi make a kiss noise before he shut the door. He stood outside the door for a moment, thinking over her responses. Her reasoning made sense. Why had he, an adult, not seen that idea? One thing was certain; he'd need to apologize to Lucy the next time he saw her.

But how was he going to do that?

He'd insulted her father, her intelligence and had acted like a complete jackass in five minutes of an argument. Not to mention the fact that he'd dragged Sonya into the argument when it was a disagreement between him and Lucy.

He stepped into his room as he mulled over how he was going to apologize to both girls. Rai was curled up on the foot of the bed in his smaller form.

"Something wrong?" he asked.

"Yea. I got into an argument with Lucy and dragged Sonya into it and now I'm trying to figure out how to apologize to both of them." Rai nodded.

"May I recommend something?" he asked.

"Sure, I'll take anything at this point. I'm completely clueless."

"In Exceed society, when one realizes they were at fault for a dispute, they bring forth an offering like the spoils of a recent hunt."

"That might work," Laxus mused as he changed and got into the bed.

"There's a small herd of deer in the southeastern part of the property," Rai reported. "In the morning I can show you where they are if you wish."

"Sounds like a plan pal," Laxus said as he laid back and went to sleep.

 

Lucy, Michelle and the memento were the first ones at the Guild in the morning. The blonde Celestial Wizard didn't want to chance missing Laxus. Knowing the blonde male, he'd try holing himself up in the office at the first opportunity.

Sonya was preparing for her job with Juvia, and had said she should be back before midnight that night as the job was a simple delivery.

The memento sat on a table with Lucy's recreation of the runes in her notebook in front of her. A few books she'd been given by Levy on ancient languages sat around her. Lucy was scanning through one that was supposed to help identify certain languages. Michelle was dozing on her crossed arms next to her as Lucy read, glancing at the door every few words.

One time as she looked up, she saw Erza and Gray walking towards her. She glanced over at Sonya as the caramel-haired Wizard's movements slowed in pulling on her furs.

"We've taken a new job request," Erza said.

"There's some bad guys stealing gold we're gonna catch. Wanna come with?" Gray offered.

"No thanks. I'm gonna pass on this one," Lucy said decisively.

"Very well. In that case, we'll be leaving. We hope you have a good day with Laxus," Erza said before walking away with Gray. It took a few steps for Gray to realize what had just happened.

"Hold on! Do you mean just the two of us?!" he asked.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Erza asked calmly.

"A…A problem? Of course not."

"If we hurry, we should be back before nightfall. So let's move," Erza said and the two left the Guild. Sonya came over, all finished with her preparations.

"That went well," she commented.

"I guess," Lucy said with a shrug.

"Oh?" she asked.

"She wished me to have a good day with Laxus," Lucy reported. Sonya nodded but didn't seem surprised by the information.

"Well, I'm off for my job." She leaned down and gave Lucy a one-armed hug. "I'll see you tomorrow if I don't get back in time for closing." Lucy watched as Sonya left the Hall, her behavior striking an odd cord in the blonde. A part of her told her to go after the girl and demand to know what was wrong but the more stubborn part of her told her that she was there to keep Laxus from holing up in the office and that Sonya was a big girl who could more than handle herself.

Lucy returned to her books.

 

Laxus took nearly silent breaths as he moved over the packed-down snow closer to the herd. His eyes were on a large twelve-point buck near the edge of the herd. Rai had brought him out to where the herd was on the edge of his property and Laxus was determined to get one on his own. Rai had observed the tracks around the area and warned him to keep an eye out for other predators.

Laxus managed to get a little closer to his intended prey with the cover of the trees. He peeked around the tree and saw the buck flick his ear at a fly as he dug in the snow with his hoof.

The buck bent his head down to eat whatever he'd found. Laxus raised his fingers to take a shot. The wind changed direction and Laxus froze, not only because it blew his scent towards the buck, but he could also smell something behind him. Slowly, Laxus looked over his shoulder and caught sight of something's flank move in the bushes.

He whirled, snapping a twig under his boot and the small sound caused a flurry of movement. The deer began bounding away and the bushes parted as a massive bear charged from them with a roar. What had struck Laxus the most about it was that the bear wasn't brown, but blonde in color. After a second, he shot a lightning bolt that hit the bear in the chest, killing it immediately. The beast fell at his feet and Laxus took a second to breathe before he looked back into the clearing. Surprisingly, the twelve-point he'd initially been hunting had remained in the area. He stood in the center of the clearing, staring right at Laxus. At the edge of the clearing was a beautiful doe with two small fawns beside her.

The buck turned his ears towards Laxus once before slowly walking towards the doe and her young. The four vanished into the woods after a few moments.

Laxus looked back at the dead bear at his feet. The coat could probably make a nice blanket for Lucy. And Laxus had heard of Native tribes who wore necklaces made of bones and claws so maybe the other Dragon Slayer would appreciate a necklace of claws as an apology. The only big issue was, how was he supposed to take this massive thing home? It was at least Laxus' own weight and a half, to even five times his weight. Not to mention, he needed to get back home and get breakfast ready before Lexi woke up.

Normally, he'd just teleport. But the problem was he'd already cooked the bear when he'd killed it, and he didn't want the meat to go to waste. Sonya certainly wouldn't appreciate it. And the whole reason he was doing this was to apologize.

In the end, he took one end and Rai took the back end and they made their way back home.

All too quickly, Laxus caught the scent of a Vulcan coming towards them. The Dragon Slayer snarled as the massive ape appeared, holding a doe in hand. The female was kicking wildly, trying to escape and bleating loudly.

"I thought I smelled something tasty," the ape chuckled. Laxus let out a growl as he narrowed his eyes. That doe was the one from earlier in the clearing, meaning she had young to feed. While normally he wouldn't bother with the happenings of animals around him, this Vulcan had come up and started bothering him.

"What do you want?" Laxus snapped as he set the bear on the ground.

"I was just thinking how I wanted to get back at those Fairy Tail losers and all of a sudden, one of them walks on my turf." Laxus' eyes narrowed.

"Monkey's got a bone to pick?" he growled as Rai dragged their prey away from the Lightning Wizard.

"Yea I gotta pick which one I wanna break first. I think I'll start with your face!" the Vulcan said before swinging a fist at the Lightning Dragon Slayer. Laxus let his Magic crawl across his skin, allowing for sparks of lightning to fly off his arms.

"You're in for the shock of your life!" Laxus declared as he let loose a massive amount of lightning on the creature. Immediately, it threw the doe away. Laxus shifted to lightning in order to catch her and bring her gently back to the ground. He had no interest in killing her, not to mention she had young to feed, so it wouldn't be right to kill her. The Vulcan fell to the ground as Laxus let go of the doe. She trotted to the edge of the clearing and looked back at him. Her ears turned towards him. "Go on, find your kid," he said with a wave of dismissal. Her ears turned again and she ran off into the woods, hopefully to find her baby.

Laxus headed back over to Rai and lifted the front half of the bear again.

"Very well handled," Rai said as they continued on.

"I like being able to hunt around here. If I can do something to keep game in the area, I'm gonna do it," Laxus reasoned with a shrug.

A few feet away from the clearing where the house was, the crunching of snow caught Laxus' attention and he sniffed the air, immediately annoyed when he smelled Natsu coming. But then he also smelled Gajeel coming.

"Rai, take the bear back to the house. We've got some guests apparently," Laxus said as he released the bear's front.

"Roger!" Rai affirmed as he began dragging the bear over the snow back to the house. The blonde male headed towards the scents. If Natsu decided to fight, Laxus did not want the pyro teen near his home where his niece was sleeping.

The scents got stronger and Laxus could hear the two arguing through a small cluster of trees.

"I'll beat him with my own two hands!"

"Not if I get to him first!"

"Who's beating who again?" Laxus growled as he made his presence known. The two gawked at him as if they were surprised by his sudden appearance.

"Laxus!"

"Holy cow!" Happy cried as he appeared behind Natsu. "That lightning really was him after all!"

"What are you two doing here?" Laxus asked. Gajeel narrowed his eyes at him.

"Hold up a second, you're the one who threw up the signal," the Iron Dragon Slayer said.

"What signal?"

"That big ol' lightning bolt in the sky," the dark-haired man explained.

"Since we're here, let's throw down and see who comes out on top!" Natsu declared, punching one fist into his palm.

"Natsu," Gajeel growled.

"Sounds fine to me," Laxus said with a tone of finality. Sure he'd fought Natsu a time or two since they'd been back, but Gajeel still had a score to settle from when he'd first joined and Laxus had beat him into the dirt.

"Sounds like fun to me," Natsu said with a grin. Laxus crouched slightly.

"Alright Natsu, guess you're first in line." Natsu immediately burst his fists into flame and Laxus let his lightning cover his arms.

"Wait! Hold on!" All three males snapped to look at the small, blue-haired Dragon Slayer as she neared them.

"What for?" Natsu asked.

"If you guys are really gonna go through with this, you gotta make sure it's a special occasion!" Wendy insisted.

"What're you talking about?" Gajeel asked.

"The match'll take place tomorrow!" the child declared.

"Fine by me, I can wait one more day to kick his butt," Natsu said with a shrug before glaring at Laxus. "Meet me tomorrow under the big Sola tree in South Gate Park."

"Sounds like a plan to me. And once I'm done with you, Natsu, Gajeel gets a round."

"You sure about this man?" Gajeel asked, sounding more amazed then intimidating. Laxus would need to ask Sonya about it when she got home. Wendy let out a breath of relief as he turned and headed for home, Natsu turning on his heel and chuckling to himself as he walked off. Gajeel's gaze almost felt like a weight on Laxus' back.

"Got something you want to say?"

"Not really. I'm fine with this. But you're gonna need to speak with your Gamma." Laxus glanced at the Iron Dragon Slayer over his shoulder.

"Sonya's a Beta-Gamma. She shows more Gamma tendencies."

"I know. But most Dragons and Slayers will tell ya that she's a Gamma just to keep it short. Later," the man said as he walked off. Laxus let out a sigh of annoyance before heading back home.

 

Sonya looked around the platform again. Upon not seeing Juvia anywhere, the caramel-haired woman let out a light sigh. A part of her wanted to go back to the Guild and help Laxus and Lucy come to a good conclusion to this argument. But she needed to take a step back and let them handle their issues sometimes.

Sonya looked up again and smiled when she saw the Water Wizard. Her smile faded as the woman didn't seem to notice her and hurried onto a train. Sonya followed the woman onto the train. It took a few moments to find the Wizard and the train started moving before Sonya could take a seat.

The Water Wizard was on her knees in her seat, back to the Celestial Dragon Slayer as she neared.

"Juvia?" The woman let out a startled yelp and whirled around.

"What are you doing here?" Juvia asked. Sonya tilted her head slightly, confused.

"We…have a job. Remember?"

"Oh that. I called the client and cancelled when something more important came up."

"What came up?" Sonya asked.

"Erza and my darling Gray are going on a job. Alone!" The rain woman gripped the seat until the wood cracked and splintered.

"And?"

"And so I must go with them to ensure his safety!"

"You canceled on the client to stalk Gray?!" Sonya shrieked.

"No it is not!" Juvia shrieked right back.

"Miss, please sit down," a conductor said gently. Sonya took a seat and let out a low growl.

"I can't believe you'd do this Juvia! You'll ruin Fairy Tail's reputation doing this!"

"Never mind that!" Juvia said as she waved dismissively. Sonya let out another growl as she settled in for the ride.

 

After Laxus had gotten Lexi up, fed and dressed, he'd loaded the bear in a sled he usually used for carrying firewood and he and Rai managed to pull it to a tanner in town.

The tanner was surprised by the color of the coat but agreed to help Laxus with turning the pelt into a blanket and the claws and teeth into necklaces in exchange for the meat, which Laxus readily agreed to.

At the end, Laxus had one necklace of teeth for Lucy and a necklace of claws for Sonya. The pelt would be turned into a blanket and sent with the clean bones to Fairy Tail upon completion.

The blonde male set his niece on the sled and began making his way home, passing by South Gate Park as he did. There were tents pitched, some offering food, some displaying games and goods to buy. Laxus blinked a few times, knowing that this had not been there that morning.

"Looks as though there is a festival," Rai said.

"Yep," Laxus said with a shrug.

"Uncle Laxus?" Lexi said as she stood up.

"What is it Lexi?"

"Why don't you ask Miss Lucy to the festival?" the child asked. "Maybe then you can apologize." Laxus paused in his steps for a moment before turning to the little girl.

"Don't you want to go?" he asked. Lexi shrugged.

"The games are rigged, the goods are overpriced and the food makes my tummy hurt." Laxus let out a little chuckle at his niece.

"Tell ya what, we'll head to the Guild and check to see if Lucy is there, then go from there, okay?"

"That sounds way better than a festival." Laxus let out a chuckle as he continued on his way.

 

Lucy sighed as she began to leave the Guild. Through the course of the day, she hadn't been able to identify the language used and she hadn't seen Laxus at all. Although, Gajeel and Natsu had come in around noon, with the pink-haired boy boasting about how he was going to beat Laxus once and for all the next day. Michelle had left for the apartment around that time, stating she felt tired and should continue to rest in bed and had taken the memento for safekeeping.

The blonde woman looked up as she headed for the end of the property. Before she got too far though, Laxus walked into view, his massive black coat draped over his shoulders, pulling a sled behind him that carried his niece and small Exceed.

Laxus came over to her and pulled a necklace from one pocket before offering it to her. Lucy picking it up and looked over the white pieces on the string, quickly discovering they were teeth of some sort. Her eyes widened.

"What's this?" she asked.

"An apology," Laxus said. "I was an ass yesterday, again. I shouldn't have said what I did about your father, or you or dragged Sonya into it. That was my mistake. This memento is the last thing your father gave you. So I want to help you look into it." Lucy smiled gently.

"I accept your apology. And…I should apologize too. You're just trying to protect Sonya and me, but I was being difficult. Not to mention, I ignored what happened to you in your past which probably influenced what you said."

"Don't worry about it," Laxus said as he pulled the necklace from Lucy's hands and placed it around her neck. Lucy fingered the dulled teeth with a small smile. Laxus smiled slightly at the smaller blonde before the breeze picked up and he smelled Sonya's scent on the wind. He turned towards the entrance to see the caramel-haired Celestial Wizard coming towards them.

Once Sonya laid eyes on them, she smiled and hurried over, despite looking like she'd just climbed Mount Hakabe with a hundred kilos tied to each of her feet.

"Hey, what are you guys still doing here?" Sonya asked as she neared. Lexi smiled as the caramel-haired woman picked her up.

"Making up for our argument yesterday," Laxus said before he pulled out Sonya's necklace of claws and held it out for her. Her blue eyes widened at the sight and gently, Laxus placed the string around her neck, letting the claws clink and tap together as they came to a rest on her collarbone.

"Thank you," she breathed gently as she ran her fingers over the claws.

"I also owe you an apology for dragging you into that argument. It was between me and Lucy." Sonya sighed and let her hand drop.

"Let's go inside," she said. "I need to tell you guys something."

The three did so, leaving Lexi with Kinana at the bar as the woman was finishing cleaning. Laxus, Sonya and Lucy entered Sonya and Kinana's room and took a seat on the couch. Sonya took a moment to collect her thought before she turned to her Mates.

"So what did you decide to do with this situation?" she asked.

"We haven't come to a complete decision yet," Laxus said. "But I'm willing to help with figuring the thing out."

"Before we talk about that," Lucy spoke up. "Sonya, you mentioned something we needed to talk about?"

"Yes. Before Michelle woke up, I was downstairs with Lexi and overheard Mira and Erza talking. Apparently, Mira is not as supportive of Laxus and Lucy as she showed this morning. It was an attempt to use reverse psychology on Lucy." Lucy's eyes widened.

"Are you serious?" she asked. Sonya nodded sadly. Laxus reached a hand over and placed it on her shoulder.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" he asked.

"Because I didn't want you two to pretend that there was no disagreement. You two needed to come to your conclusion on your own," she said. "But my instincts were constantly screaming at me to fix it."

"That's your role as a Gamma, isn't it?" Laxus asked. "I know its Beta-Gamma with Gamma tendencies but Gajeel said for short, most Dragon Slayers would probably call it Gamma, right?"

"Yea."

"Speaking of, I ran into Natsu and Gajeel today and they said I sent up some kind of signal or something. Wendy showed up a few minutes later when we were about to fight and got the fight delayed to tomorrow. But Gajeel recommended I talk to you." Sonya nodded and sat at attention.

"Tell me what happened this morning," she said. Laxus explained his hunt up until he went back home to get Lexi up. When he mentioned the Vulcan he fried and the doe, Sonya's eyes widened and while she continued to nod and show she was listening, her gaze fell to the floor rather than him.

"So what's going on exactly?" Laxus asked.

"Well, this is kinda huge in Dragon and Slayer culture," Sonya muttered as she sat back. "By an Alpha attacking another Alpha of any kind over a female of any kind, causes a signal to flare into the sky, summoning others to the attacking Alpha. That Alpha has essentially challenged all others who will heed to call to become Alpha of the Territory, or some might call it the Territory Alpha. Alpha of the Territory acts kinda like a tribal chief. Like…For Dragon Slayers, the Alpha of a Pack acts as the family head. Over the heads is the chief, or the Territory Alpha. With Slayers, a squad would be headed by the Territory Alpha."

"So that means…" Lucy started.

"Essentially, Laxus unknowingly agreed to fight Natsu and Gajeel for the right to lead a squad if the need ever arises. And all Natsu's talk of being in a Pack with Gray and Erza is nothing more than that, talk," Sonya said.

"So you and I are his Mates. What are we supposed to do?" Lucy asked.

"Watch and not look away no matter what," the caramel-haired Wizard said. Erika started crying in her crib and the Celestial Dragon Slayer went over and picked up the child, cooing softly to her.

"And me?" Laxus asked.

"You fight. And you don't hold back. It would be disrespectful to Natsu and Gajeel. But Gajeel seems like he's more aware of real Dragon Slayer culture than Natsu so that guy might take more offence to it if you don't."

"Wait, Dragon Slayers had their own culture?" Lucy asked.

"Yea. Not much is known about it because it wasn't around for too long. But Draco taught his way of life to the Dragons, who taught their Slayers. The most famous practitioner was a Lightning Dragon Slayer named Robert Marevelli."

"Where have I heard that before?" Laxus asked. Sonya chuckled.

"He was the founder of the Rune Knights. On top of that he had three wives. His first Mate was a Sky Dragon Slayer named Ariel Featherheart. Second was Princess Victoria of Veronica. The third one was Elizabeth Heartfilia." Sonya let out a chuckle as Lucy's jaw dropped.

"Are you serious?!" she cried. Sonya nodded.

"Ain't that funny? Your ancestor was mated to a Lightning Dragon Slayer and now you are too." Lucy let out a little chuckle.

"So is that all in regards to this whole…fight thing?" Laxus asked.

"Yea, I'd say so," Sonya said with a shrug.

"So how was your job with Juvia?" Lucy asked as the infant in Sonya's arms quieted. The woman dropped her head back.

"I don't want to talk about it," she groaned.

"Sorry but we are," Laxus said with a smirk. Sonya sat down on the couch with a sigh.

"That woman needs help. Apparently Gray and Erza went on a job together and so Juvia canceled on our client in order to stalk Gray without telling me, so I got dragged along. I tried talking to her about the problem but she claimed that I was just trying to take her out of the picture so I could get close to Gray."

"Seriously?!" Lucy cried.

"Seriously," Sonya sighed as she gave Erika one of her fingers to hold onto. The baby cooed in joy as she began gumming on the digit. "I tried convincing her I wasn't interested but she continuously said I was lying, how Gray was perfect in every way, shape and form, and how I'll never win him over. Honestly I never thought mere talking would exhaust me as much as it did today."

"In that case, why don't you let me take care of Erika and you get some rest?" Lucy offered.

"Sorry," Sonya said as she passed the infant over to the other girl.

"No problem. You might've been the one to adopt her, but since you're our Mate that technically makes her our daughter too," the blonde female said as she sat back with the child. Both Sonya and Laxus gave the Celestial Wizard a wide-eyed look. "What?"

"That's a bit of a jump…I'd say at least," Sonya said with a slight chuckle. "At least until we pass through the Covenant Veil."

"Doesn't mean we can't help you take care of her," Lucy cooed as she rocked the baby.

"Thanks Lucy," Sonya yawned before her head came to rest on the blonde's shoulder and almost immediately, her breathing evened out.

"Seriously?" Lucy whispered, looking at her Mate.

"Can you blame her?" Laxus asked as he stood up and scooped the exhausted Dragon Slayer into his arms.

"Honestly, no. Juvia is beyond needing help at this point," Lucy sighed as Laxus set Sonya into her bed and pulled the blankets up around her.

"So what do we do?" the male asked as he came back over.

"I don't know. If we try taking her somewhere she'll likely fight us and trying to contain her is like trying to contain a river with your bare hands." Laxus let out a sigh as he sat down on the couch.

"So we not only need to worry about Natsu stalking you on jobs, but also Juvia stalking Gray. And who knows what else," he muttered. "If Freed were here, I'd ask him to write up some runes to keep people from stalking each other."

"Can't you?" Lucy asked.

"I know Jistu Shiki almost as well as Freed does. But I'm gonna be the first to say that Freed's smarter than I am, him and Rose just to start. I know that if I wrote the runes, I'd forget some loophole or apply it to someone without intending to and then we'll be caught up in a huge mess. So I'm gonna leave that sort of thing to him. Simple stuff like what was used during Fantasia, I can do just fine. But we're talking about specific instructions for specific situations."

"I see," the blonde female said as she stood up and placed Erika back in her crib. "So we wait for Freed?"

"It's not what I want to do, but it looks like we don't have many other options, unless we want the potential of it interfering with jobs and other bullshit we don't have time or resources for."

"Good point," Lucy sighed as she sat down beside him and leaned her head against his shoulder. His arm wrapped around her gently, pulling her into his side.

"But I want to make something clear. I'm going to do what I can to protect you, Sonya, and the others. There's gonna be times where I seem or act like a complete and utter ass, either because something I say or do is interpreted wrong. But I'm not good with people and emotions and talking in general. So have some patience with me, alright?" he asked.

"Yea. I think I can do that," Lucy said with a slight smile. It only took a few minutes of silence for the two to fall asleep.

 

Rose let out a slight sigh. After a day of signing a near half billion forms that the Magic Counsel required of consultants and riding with Lahar in a carriage to their destination, she was tired and sore. She wanted to get back to her baby as fast as possible as well as see if Erik was among the tests conducted on Lexi's DNA.

The Chief Marshal had been completely silent during their ride, making the entire travel awkward as they were the only ones in their carriage, the Thunder Legion following them in other carriages.

Rose knew what Lahar was doing. She'd seen him all but glaring at Bickslow when the Seith Wizard remained close to her, even through all the paperwork. The Rune Knight was using this opportunity to try getting close to her again. She knew Lahar had grown up in a very old-fashioned family that believed women should be subservient to their husbands and all that. Lahar considered himself a little more liberal than that, saying that women should be able to work alongside men, as opposed to staying at home at all times. But Rose would argue most of his arguments more supported his pig-headed father's opinions.

It was shown in their silent ride. She could tell he wanted to say something to her. But he wasn't going to say anything until she did first. He'd wanted her to get uncomfortable with the silence and break, allowing his ego to be stroked as she caved under him and further encouraged his way of thinking. If what he wanted to discuss was so important, he wouldn't bother with the stupid little game he was playing.

Once the carriage had come to a stop, Rose was quick to leave it and find the Thunder Legion as Lahar got his men into position around a nearby church, one of the three likely next targets. The priest has been removed from the premises and the church cleared out in secret, so that hopefully the culprits would appear.

Lahar perched himself and the consultants with his guards on top of the peak overlooking the church. The entire group remained silent for hours, keeping watch on the building. As the minutes ticked by at a snail's pace, Rose pulled her jacket tighter around herself. Even with her thick winter coat and a jacket underneath, she was freezing. Bickslow kept close so she could feel his body heat next to her. It alleviated part of the discomfort, but not completely. Freed stood nearby, perfectly at ease despite the low temperature. Evergreen was also nearby, although she was also bundled up.

Freed looked over his shoulder at his team and leader's sister. While he had no problem asserting mind over matter in terms of dealing with the cold, it was clear that Rose was not the same.

"Are you certain this is the target?" the Rune Mage asked the Rune Knight.

"One of three, yes," Lahar said quickly.

"In that case, where are the other two?" Rose asked. One of Lahar's guards pulled out a map and pointed to two other spots only a few miles away.

"Okay. Bickslow, Evergreen, you guys go to this one. I'll head to the last one. Maybe we can cut the culprits off before they get here. Freed, you stay here with the Rune Knights," Rose ordered.

"Understood," Freed said with a nod.

"Need a lift?" Bickslow offered.

"No. Kit and I have this handled, thanks," Rose said as she snapped her fingers, summoning the kitsune.

"My lady," he said with a deep bow. Bickslow flipped onto his babies and flew off with Evergreen quick to follow. Rose took hold of Kit's hand and merged with him. The scarlet tips of her hair reached a little further up her back and her clothes had turned to a long white kimono with long, flowing pieces draping behind her. Her fingernails were longer and her teeth were brilliantly white. Floating around her were small balls of purple fire.

Freed blinked once and the woman was gone, leaving only disturbed snow in her wake.

Rose leapt through the trees, Kit's heightened senses and instincts assisting in avoiding getting hit in the face with other branches.

Suddenly a loud noise and a blast of hot air in front of her, knocked her out of the treetops. Immediately, Kit's foxfire surrounded Rose in a swirling vortex of purple flames. The enchanted fire deposited her on a soft snowdrift with a similar gentleness that she would use with her daughter.

Rose stood up almost immediately and turned towards the direction the blast had come from. A pillar of fire and smoke rose to the dark skies like a beacon of some sort.

The sound of feet crunching in snow caught Rose's attention and she immediately whirled around.

"Who's there?!" she yelled. The footsteps came to a stop and the scarlet-tipped blonde looked around.

"Rosie?" Rose stood up straight, her eyes widening. Slowly, she turned her head to look over her shoulder. She saw the white-haired woman first, with a long black cloak draped over herself. Beside her stood a redheaded man. Rose's gray eyes locked with a single violet one and she turned her whole body with a gasp.

"Sorano? Erik?" she asked as a hand came up to her mouth, her eyes taking in his scar. Slowly, the man came over to her before slowly reaching one hand up to cup her cheek.

"You…You're…" Rose slipped her arms around the man in front of her and pulled herself into his chest.

"I've missed you," she managed as tears began streaming down her cheeks. She felt warm hands wrap around her back and pull her into his arms before he fell to his knees.

"How?" Erik breathed as his hands brushed over Rose's arms, back, hair and hips.

"Purple flames...Netherworld flames." Rose looked over Erik's shoulder at Sorano, who was watching the moment with tears in her own blue eyes and a hand on her mouth. Erik pulled back and kissed at Rose's cheeks, nose, forehead and lips before pulling her into his chest again.

"I almost can't believe you're here. But you are," he said with a sob of relief.

"Erik?" Rose asked pulling back some to look him in the eye. "What's going on here?" For a second, Erik's eye shot to the pillar of fire and Rose's eyes widened. "No…" Erik pulled her back into his embrace again.

"Listen, everything I've done, everything I'm doing, and everything I'm going to do, it's all so Sorano and I can get back everything we lost." One of his hands slid up her neck, catching on the chain of her locket. The redheaded man opened the trinket and smiled. "I'm going to keep my promise to you. A new life for all three of us, in a new home, with a new family."

"What about the others? Macbeth and Richard and Sawyer? What about Bartholomew?" Rose asked. Immediately, she felt Erik's hands tighten on her and his teeth bared in a snarl.

"Bartholomew betrayed us. I lost one fight and he shot me in the back. Macbeth actually came up with this plan to help Sorano and I get everything back."

"Wait a minute I'm confused. Batholomew shot you in the back? What about Sawyer and Richard? And what plan has Macbeth come up with? And what do you mean by everything?"

"We cannot explain everything now. But we mean that soon we shall regain you, little baby Alexis, Cubelious and our younger sisters," Sorano explained, stepping forward.

"Wait your sisters? You mean the ones who died when you were kids?" Rose asked, looking from Erik to Sorano quickly.

"Erik. We should hurry back. We're running out of time," the white-haired woman said before turning away.

"I know," Erik growled as he pulled Rose into his chest one more time as Sorano ran off. "It won't be too long. I promise. You and Alexis wait just a little longer. We'll be together soon." Erik placed one more kiss on Rose's lips before running off after Sorano, their dark cloaks almost immediately making them vanish into the darkness.

"Wait!" Rose yelled as she rose to her feet and tried to chase after them. She dared not yell their names in a forest where Rune Knights were probably looking for the two. "What could they have possibly meant by all that?!" she mentally screamed as she followed their tracks. Soon though, the footprints vanished, leaving Rose alone in the forest. The scarlet-tipped blonde collapsed to her knees as more tears began streaming down her cheeks. She felt Kit separate himself from her and wrap his arms around her, enveloping her in warmth as she cried.

A part of her was horrified. A part of her was relieved. But mostly she was confused. On one hand, Erik and Sorano were involved in the church fires. On the other hand, her closest friends growing up still cared for her. Erik still loved her, still wanted her. But how could he have possibly known about Lexi? He'd never laid eyes on her…or rather, eye now. What had happened to his eye? What had happened to Cubelious? What plan was Macbeth executing that would return her, Lexi, and two dead children to Erik and Sorano?

Erik and Sorano had shared their past before Bartholomew adopted them with Rose only once. Sorano's blood-sister was supposed to have died when the white-haired woman was taken by people looking for children to serve as slaves. Hundreds of people had been used to construct a massive tower. Dozens of them died by the day. One little brown-haired, blue-eyed girl, who Erik called 'Little Dreamer', had been like a sister to both Wizards. They'd taken care of her and the three of them had been happy together, like an actual family. But one day, there'd been an uprising and while trying to escape it, the little girl had been vaporized and Erik's arms had been burnt some trying to rescue her.

Rose herself had traveled to the village where Sorano and Erik had come from once and she'd collapsed and cried upon seeing the place. It was completely barren. No ruins were left to suggest structures had ever existed there, no skeletons of the many dead, grass didn't even grow in that place.

She'd erected two headstones for the place, one for the people who'd died at the tower, and one for Yukino, Sorano's little sister who'd been lost in their village's raid. Since she didn't know if Yukino really was dead, the scarlet-tipped blonde had left the date of death blank on the stone.

Yukino was missing. Little Dreamer was dead, vaporized. Cubelious was missing. But Rose and Lexi were perfectly fine. Erik and Sorano had never seen the child, never known Rose was even pregnant. How could they know that Lexi even existed? Just what was happening?

More crunching of snow alerted Rose to the approach of Knights. She stood up and made herself look presentable before turning to face the approaching Knights.

"Miss Dreyar! Did you see anything?!" the man commanding the troops asked as he neared.

"No. I didn't," Rose said. "Until I know what's going on. Lahar's not getting anything from me about Erik or Sorano."

 

Laxus looked around the park as the Pack and children neared the Sola tree in the center. Erika was secured in a papoose on Sonya's back while Lexi held onto Lucy's hand.

"So all this just because I'm fighting Gajeel and Natsu?" Laxus muttered.

"You're surprised?" Sonya deadpanned as Gajeel neared and crowd began to gather.

"You know what you're doing?" Gajeel asked. Laxus nodded and the other male gave a slow one in return.

"Sweet! Black Steel Gajeel is ready to throw down! And Laxus is so calm and collected its terrifying!" Jason cheered into a microphone. Sonya let out a low growl as Erika began crying at the sudden noise. "The two heroes stare down their opponent!" Laxus rolled his eyes as he helped remove the child from the carrier and handed her to the caramel-haired Dragon Slayer. "The tension is so thick you could cut it with a knife!"

"Tension?" Sonya said, noting the relaxed atmosphere around them. Natsu made his way through the crowd and stood tall at the edge.

"Natsu has arrived! All three warriors are in their places!" Jason cheered. Rai hopped up onto Lucy's shoulder and watched as Laxus stepped forward. "Looks like Natsu's getting first crack at him!"

"Let's do this thing," Laxus said. Natsu grinned and slipped into a fighting stance.

"Bring it!" The crowd cheered at the pink-haired boy's declaration.

"I'm gonna warn ya that I won't hold back," the blonde warned as he shrugged off his coat.

"I don't blame ya!" Laxus' eyes narrowed.

"Do you understand what I'm saying Natsu? If you don't survive this, it's not on me."

"I could say the same to you, big guy!" Natsu's fist burst into flames. Laxus shook his head as lightning licked up his arms and over his shoulders. After a few seconds, both males completely engulfed themselves in their elements, making the snow around their feet melt.

"Yes it's on now!" Jason hollered into the microphone. Sonya leaned towards Lucy.

"Watch, the first one to move is going to lose," she observed.

"You think so?" Lucy asked.

"Just watch." A few seconds later, Natsu charged forward with a yell. The sound was quickly cut off, the fire and lightning vanished as Laxus landed a solid punch to Natsu's head, knocking him face-first into the ground.

"T. K. O!" Jason yelled. Laxus rolled his eyes as he looked back at his Pack. Sonya was covering a chuckle as Lucy rolled her eyes. Lexi gave him a thumbs up and Erika blinked a few times. He sighed in annoyance before turning towards where he remembered Gajeel to have been standing.

"So, you ready for round 2?" he asked before he finished turning. The blonde male's eyes widened slightly when he saw that Gajeel was no where to be seen.

"Whoa! Gajeel just ghosted!" The crowd immediately ran off to find the Iron Dragon Slayer as Happy checked on Natsu. Laxus put his coat back on and went back to his Pack.

"Let's get going," he said as he put one arm around Lucy's shoulders.

"To where?" Lucy asked.

"Your apartment to get your Dad's memento," he said with a shrug. "Even if I can't figure out the language its in, we should probably leave it at the Hall from now on."

"Good point," Lucy said with a nod.

"Someone say something about a language?" The trio of adults turned to see Levy walking up to them.

"Levy!" Lucy cheered as she hurried over and hugged her friend. "You're back from your job. How was it?"

"Uhh...Can we forget it for now and talk about that language Laxus mentioned?" the petite bluenette asked.

"Uh sure. My dad's memento has some inscriptions on it that I couldn't figure out." Levy's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

"May I take a look?"

"Sure. Its at my apartment."

 

Rose ran a hand through her hair as she glared at the pages before her. Lahar wanted them to stay a little while longer until the next attack so all she had to do until then was sit and read in the massive library the Magic Counsel had. This building infuriated her to no end. The Magic Counsel banned certain books because they possessed Magic that they deemed unsafe for any and all persons to handle but this library was chock-full of all these banned books and plenty of other ones that the public had no access to.

Bickslow, Evergreen and Freed were pouring over old tomes from Zentopia with her, all on the hunt for any information they could find. The Thunder Legion was looking for anything at all, while she herself was looking for anything in regards to reviving the dead and return the missing, or granting wishes. But so far, hours upon hours of searching had proven fruitless save for finding some bullshit book written by a Cardinal about how Seith Magic was abominable. It gave Bickslow an excuse to look into Seith Magic books to 'see if anything matched the church fires'.

Rose glanced over at the Wizard as he carefully looked over every book on his own Magic he'd been cut off from thanks to these pompous windbags buying into an old crackpot's nonsense. Her fingers began playing with her locket again and as soon as she realized it, she yanked her hand away and got back to reading.

There had to be a reason for Erik and Sorano attacking the churches. And she was going to find it, dammit. They wanted back everything they'd lost in the past.

Rose blinked.

"The past? Time Magic?" she thought before she stood up and turned to one of the librarians standing nearby. "Get me everything involving Zentopia and time," she barked.

"Yes ma'am!" the frog-men croaked as they ran off to obey.

"Time?" Freed asked.

"A hunch," she explained dismissively. Pupu and Pipi flew over to the scarlet-tipped blonde and let out little hums of worry before flying back to Bickslow. The Seith Wizard eyed to woman suspiciously before returning to his book.

 

Once inside Lucy's apartment, Levy had immediately set to looking at the memento and taking notes on the runes while the Pack, children and Michelle made themselves comfortable on Lucy's bed and around her table.

"Oh sweet!" Levy cried with excitement as she sat upright. "This is written in ancient Potymelian!"

"Potty-what?" Lexi asked.

"Potymelian," Sonya corrected. "Although I've never heard of that language before."

"Neither have I," Laxus added.

"It's a rare one," Levy said with a shrug.

"But now that you've figured that out, do you know what it says?" Lucy asked.

"Time ticks forward, on towards inevitable chaos," Levy read aloud. The room fell silent before Lexi let out a little whimper and shrank into herself.

"That sounds scary," she squeaked.

"Downright creepy," Sonya agreed.

"But...I know I've heard it somewhere before," Lucy said, earning her a wide-eyed stare from her Pack. The blonde woman went over to her shelves and looked through the books, muttering which ones it wasn't until she came across the spine at last. "Here it is! I found it!" she cheered. "I knew I read that phrase before and it's somewhere in this book!" she declared.

"What's the book about?" Sonya asked.

"Basically, it's about an old clock that passes from one owner to the next over a long period of time and a lot of mysterious stuff happens to it over time...Uh."

"What?" Laxus asked.

"I think I get it guys," Lucy said as she looked at the front cover.

"What do you mean?" Michelle asked. Lucy turned the book around and let the others look at the picture on the front. One by one, their eyes widened. Looking back at them was an orange clock face with hands that looked all too much like the memento. "It's more than some random object. It's the hand of a clock!"

 

Erik couldn't help a small chuckle as he relaxed into the wall of the alcove he and Sorano shared.

"How are you feeling after yesterday?" the white-haired woman asked as she leaned against his legs so her arms rested on his knees.

"Honestly? A part of me feels disgusted with what we've done. But after seeing Rose again, hearing her voice, feeling her warmth..." Sorano smiled and placed a hand on Erik's unscarred cheek. "How do you think it happened? I mean...I watched her die myself."

"There were purple flames around her. Either it was a fox playing a trick, or someone out there is finally on our side and decided you deserved to see her again, pulled her from the Netherworld and gave her temporary form to keep you going."

"I kinda like that last one more," the redhead said. Sorano chuckled lightly. "What about you? Feeling okay?"

"Yes. Don't worry. Once we've obtained our goal, we'll be able to reverse the damages caused by the injustices done to us. No Tower of Heaven, no Brain, no imprisonment. Everything we've wanted and lost will be returned to us." Erik offered the woman a slight smile and placed his hand on the top of her head.

"I can hear your excitement. Not only for Yukino and our Little Dreamer, but to see Alexis be born and grow up."

"And you're saying you're not?" Sorano asked with a chuckle. "You can't hide anything from me, Erik. I know you're excited as well."

"With someone like Rose being my Mate, how can I not be? I keep thinking about what Alexis' voice is going to sound like when she starts talking, who's Magic she'll start using, what she's going to look like as she grows up." Sorano let out another chuckle.

"And to think, you promised our dear Little Dreamer that she and I would be the only ones you'll love." Erik let out his own chuckle.

"I'll be able to change that once we get our hands on the Infinity Clock."


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: Hey all! Yikes! I'm sorry it took me an eternity and a half to update this! School is looming for me in a week and I'm not looking forward to it. Please show support with kudos, comments or bookmarks to sustain me through school!

Laxus drummed his fingers on his knee, glaring thoughtfully at the clock hand on the table in front of him. He could hear all the girls in the kitchen cleaning up after they’d eaten dinner. He’d initially offered to help but had been shooed out quickly by both Michelle and his own niece, claiming the kitchen was too small and he was too big.   
A small part of him was grateful for the lack of work as it gave him a chance to think over what to do with this thing. Or at least what to suggest Lucy do with it. His first thought was to tie it to an anchor and shove it off the side of a boat, although he doubted his Mate would actually do that. Runes would be tough as he had no idea what the darned thing would be useful for, unless Lucy employed it as a weapon of some sort.   
He couldn’t even think what the darned thing was. If it really was a clock hand, why the hell would it drain energy when touched by bare hands? Why have those runes on them?  
Laxus’ eyes went over to the book Lucy had grabbed. She’d explained it was a piece of fiction, the whole thing. But if this was just fantasy, then why was a part of it sitting on the table in front of him, threatening to drain his energy if he touched it without protection and drive him up a wall if he didn’t investigate it.   
Sonya slipped out of the kitchen, drying her hands on a towel as she looked at her Alpha. The tip of his foot started tapping on the floor and the Celestial Dragon Slayer rolled her eyes. She tossed the towel at the blonde male, the cloth hitting him in the face and draping over his head. He jumped and snapped around to glare at her as she giggled.   
“You let your guard down,” she said with a shrug before she sat down next to him on the couch.   
“Yea, yea,” he grumbled, laying the towel over the back of the couch. Sonya glanced at the memento and then at the book.   
“You’re getting a bad feeling from this too?” she asked. Laxus sighed with a nod.   
“First Michelle’s energy is drained by touching it, and now this weird phrase…I’m not liking this at all,” he muttered, his fingers drumming on the back of the couch.   
“Me neither,” Sonya agreed. “But we have to figure this damn thing out.”   
“That’s exactly right,” Lucy said as she and the other girls came out of the kitchen. The blonde female came over and closed the case before picking it up. “You guys ready? We should hurry and get this to the Guild.”   
“Then let’s get going,” Laxus said as he stood up. “The sooner we get this thing secured and out of here, the better.” Everyone gathered their things and headed for the Guild, several members who’d been searching for Gajeel joining them as they walked. Judging by the looks on the men’s faces, the Iron Dragon Slayer had evaded them.   
A part of him was confused. Gajeel had shown up at the fight, as had Natsu but in the ten seconds he’d been distracted with Natsu, the Iron Dragon Slayer had chosen to leave. A possible explanation could be tied back to how Gajeel was spying on Ivan. But what part of being Territory Alpha would prevent the other male from spying on the former Fairy Tail Wizard?   
Another part of him was relieved. Metal and lightning didn’t go together without serious consequences. Sure Gajeel had gotten lucky last time they’d crossed when the Iron Dragon Slayer had literally turned himself into a lightning rod to protect Natsu, but Laxus didn’t want to actually harm him. Not again. And fighting him without holding back would result in lightning burns at the very least, and death at the worst.   
It crossed his mind that he may want to talk to Sonya a little more about Dragon Slayer culture. While Natsu might be completely oblivious to it, Gajeel had only needed some slight correction in terms of group naming. True it hadn’t even entered his mind that Dragon Slayers at one time had a culture of their own until recently, but the fact remained that it was a part of his life now and he should at least learn about that part of his heritage.   
Natsu walked in the front of the group as they passed the park, complaining about his headache and how he’d beat Laxus the next time they met, not even realizing that the blonde Dragon Slayer was walking along right behind the group.   
The minute the group stepped into the Guild’s yard, Laxus caught whiff of three strangers and sure enough, three people were standing in front of the building’s doors. The first was a tall blonde male with a pompadour dressed in a white suit that reminded him of some pictures he’d seen on his mother’s rock’n’roll records when he was a kid. The second was a woman with purple hair and white bangs, dressed in a white shirt, red tie around her neck, a green pair of overalls and black gloves. The final was a child with reddish-caramel hair braided over one shoulder and tied off with a blue hairpiece. A headband rested on top of her head like a tiara. Her clothes were a simple long-sleeved white shirt with blue on the ends of the sleeves and around the collar, a yellow slip over her torso with lacy edges, a red band around her waist, blue capris and red sandals. She also had big brown eyes, a button nose and lips pulled into a thin line to try giving herself a stern expression.   
Laxus felt Sonya step forward as Levy and Lucy took a step back with the children. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Sonya place a hand near her Keys in case they were needed.   
“Oh customers,” Mira cheered merrily as she stepped forward, a bright, welcoming smile on her face. Laxus almost wanted to groan until he looked at the woman. The aura surrounding her was very reminiscent of her younger years when she was known as the “She-Devil”. Apparently her S-Class instincts hadn’t left her as it would have seemed.   
“Wait a second, isn’t that girl from Edolas?” Wendy spoke up as she gestured to the younger of the females before them. Lucy peered past Laxus’ massive form as the male blinked, confused as to where this Edolas place was. He’d traveled almost everywhere in his line of work and he’d never heard of it.   
“Yea…Queen Shagote right?” Natsu said, peering at the girl. Wendy forced a smile.   
“No, she’s a cat,” she stated simply. Lucy smiled and stepped around her Mate, trying to push down the feeling of unease coming up her throat like bile.   
“Coco? Long time no see but how’d you get to Earthland from Edolas?” she asked. Laxus sent a questioning look towards his Mate. What she’d said implied that these people came from another planet entirely.   
The purple-haired woman laughed before turning to her blonde comrade.   
“Sugar Boy, these tools totes think we’re, like, old chums of theirs.”   
“Uhh-huh,” the man replied with an affirmative nod. “I’d have to say that’s their problem Mary Hughes.”   
“Let’s finish this up before they invite us to stay for dinner,” Coco remarked.   
“Mary Hughes?” Natsu asked.   
“And Sugar Boy?” Lucy took a step back.   
“The weirdos we found at the Royal City amusement park?” Laxus blinked again and cast a glance at Sonya, who shrugged.  
“Now that you mention it, there is a certain resemblance,” Lucy commented. Natsu’s face soured and turned pink under his hair as he glared at the woman, Mary Hughes.   
“What’s with the lady clothes, pervert?! You trying to fool me?!” Immediately, the woman stiffened.   
“I just met him and I want to kill him,” she ground out through her teeth.   
“So weird,” Wendy said, taking a cautious step back. Laxus stood up as tall as he could and stepped forward, Sonya flanking him like Freed would.   
“If you people aren’t here to hire us, then you can leave,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. Natsu snapped around and grinned as Mary Hughes did as well.   
“Uh-huh. We ain’t takin’ orders from slums with no style, soldier boy.”   
“There you are Laxus! I ain’t through with you!” he roared as he leapt at the other mage. Laxus quickly knocked him back, irritated.   
“Knock it off. Now is really not the time, kid.”   
“I think now is the perfect time to get you back for sucker-punching me!” the Fire Dragon Slayer declared as he leapt to his feet.   
“I’m only saying this once so listen,” Mary Hughes said as she stood up straight. “I demand you give me Lucy Heartfilia, like, now.” Sonya’s hand jerked to her Keys and Natsu began snarling at the trio before them instead of at Laxus. The blonde Dragon Slayer heard his Mate gasp behind him.   
“How forward…My heart skipped a beat,” Michelle commented.   
“There’s no point in hiding her from us,” Coco boasted.   
“We, like, totes know the spoiled little twerp’s a part of your Guild,” Mary Hughes added, placing her hands on her hips.   
“Uh-huh. Why don’t ya make it easy on everyone and shimmy on over here baby?” Sugar Boy asked. Laxus stepped forward.   
“What’s going on?” Levy whispered to the blonde female.   
“Why are these rude people looking for you?” Michelle added.   
“Believe me, I wish I knew,” Lucy assured as she took a step back and Sonya took one forward.   
“You three’ve got a lot of guts showing up out of nowhere and demanding what isn’t yours to ask for,” the caramel-haired Wizard said with a glare.   
“I’m the Fourth Master of Fairy Tail. Your request is denied, so I would suggest you three get out of here. My Guild’s not know for patience and I’m not known for putting up with disrespectful little punks,” Laxus growled as he uncrossed his arms, letting lightning flicker across his skin in warning.   
“Especially when those punks are shouting orders,” Max said as he stepped up, earning him a thankful nod from Sonya. “It rubs us the wrong way you know.”   
“Like we’d run from kids, old men and their cats,” Mary Hughes chuckled with a shrug.   
“All of those churches that have been burned down the past few weeks,” Kinana started timidly, earning her the attention of the gathered Wizards. “It’s you…You’re the ones behind them.” Both Laxus and Sonya turned towards the three. Mary Hughes glared while Sugar Boy remained almost unreadable behind his shades. Coco’s face was starting to turn pink.   
“Makes sense to me,” Carla said as she hovered near Wendy.   
“Even without proof, the timing is too convenient,” Pantherlily said as he stood next to Rai, placing a paw on the sword tied to his back. “They must be the culprits.”   
“Hmp! Spicy. They’re trying to serve up some guilt, uh-huh,” Sugar Boy said, thrusting his hips forward and back.   
“Well I’m not biting it!” Coco said indignantly.   
“Keep on playing the blame game if it’ll help you sleep at night. Now hand over Heartfilia before we decide to get nasty with you.” Laxus bared his teeth. Sonya immediately grabbed her Keys, summoning Summer and her bow and arrow.   
“Just try,” she growled as she pulled back the arrow.   
“We’re gonna rock your world!” Sugar Boy said as he pulled out a microphone of wood and stood it beside him. “I’d like to start with this little ditty! Uh-huh! One, two, three, four.” The man released a yell into the device. Sonya and Laxus looked at each other and the caramel-haired girl shrugged.   
“Well, looks like these guys won’t be too much trouble,” Natsu said before grinning and turning back to Laxus. “Which means you and me are good to go!”  
“I am not dealing with your bullshit right now!” Laxus barked. Lucy made out the words “Little hound dogs” from Sugar Boy before green slime began oozing out of the man’s white suit.   
“What the-” Levy yelled, grossed out as the slime seemingly formed into a single massive blob.   
“My lunch is coming back up,” Lucy groaned as she covered her mouth.   
“It looks tasty to me,” Michelle commented dreamily.   
“It looks like a living booger,” Lexi said. Sugar Boy began hitting a high note and the slime shot out at the Wizards as Natsu took a flaming swing at Laxus.   
“What the hell?!” Sonya yelled as she leapt back, narrowly avoiding colliding with Laxus as he dodged Natsu’s attack.   
“Disgusting!” Lucy objected as she moved further back. Laxus landed in the yard and snarled at Natsu.   
“Now is not the time Natsu!” he barked.   
“The others can handle these chumps. You and me got a score to settle!”   
“What the heck is this stuff?” Max asked as he went back-to-back with Laki, the woman creating a small wall of wood to keep the still-moving green ooze away from them.   
“Slime?” she suggested. Elfman rushed forward and punched a larger part, only to find it sucked his hand in.   
“Hey! Stupid sludge. Why don’t ya fight me like a real man?!” he demanded. His sisters rushed forward.  
“Elfman hold on!” Mira called.   
“Let go of him right now!” Lisanna demanded. Elfman snapped around.  
“No, stay back! It’ll grab you too!” The slime all but leapt forward, swallowing him and then his sisters. Laxus growled as he dodged another of Natsu’s fists.   
“Damn it Natsu! Look around you! They don’t have the situation under control!”   
“Just give them a minute, it’ll be fine,” Natsu assured before swinging his foot at the tall blonde. Laxus ducked and snarled again.   
“Yummy!” Sugar Boy sang into his microphone. “Wizards taste so SPICY!” Laxus glanced over. Max was summoning up a sandstorm while Laki defended them, Sonya was with Lucy, Kinana, Levy, Michelle and the kids acting as a guard, Macao and Wakaba were fighting back where they could, Romeo was running around, throwing fireballs, the Exceeds were flying above the slime with Carla and Pantherlily holding onto Wendy’s arms, and the Strauss family was caught up in the slime.   
“I can’t move,” Mira grunted. Lisanna giggled.   
“I know we’re in trouble…But I can’t help remembering when we used to snuggle up like this as little kids,” she said happily.   
“This isn’t the time to reminisce sis,” Elfman chastised gently. Natsu threw another punch at Laxus, this time coming close enough to since his cheek.   
“Enough!” Laxus roared, backhanding Natsu into the mountain wall nearby. The teen slouched to the ground, stunned. Laxus shook his head in irritation before moving towards his family. Coco appeared in front of him.   
“You’re the Guild Master right?!” she demanded. “Unless you wanna see them get hurt, you’ll hand over Lucy!”   
“Not happening!” he said before taking a swing at her. The child leapt off the ground, jumped off his shoulder and sent him skidding into the grass as she landed perfectly. “8, 9, 9, 10 points!” Laxus growled as he stood up again, shrugging off his coat. He heard fire crackling behind him and leapt into the air, changing to lightning just in time to see Macao and Wakaba run up and take over his fight with Coco.   
“We’ll handle her Laxus, you protect your family!” the fire Wizard said with a wink and a thumbs up. Laxus couldn’t help the small tug at the corner of his lips.   
“I owe ya one!” he said before landing to stand beside Sonya. Lexi hugged his leg as Sonya fired arrows at the slime as it headed for Wendy and the Exceeds and the other women were trying to get Erika to stop crying. “You guys okay?” he asked before throwing a lightning bolt at where Sonya was aiming.   
“Mostly,” Kinana said as Laxus pushed Lexi back to them and fired another bolt at an approaching piece of slime.   
“Where’s Natsu?” Lucy asked. The blonde Dragon Slayer gestured towards where he’d left the Fire Dragon Slayer and Lucy let out an anxious chuckle. “Of course. Our butts are getting slimed and he’s taking a freaking nap!” Laxus shot another lightning bolt and caught sight of Coco running on the building. Literally running up the side of the wall. Romeo was throwing fireballs until his father and Wakaba restrained him and all three were swallowed up by the slime.   
“Oh no!” Sonya cried as Summer growled and snarled at more approaching slime before Laxus electrocuted it.   
“Shit, they’ve got us playing defense back here!” he growled.   
“Natsu’s still not up yet!” Wendy reported. “And he looks so pale!”   
“Don’t tell me his earlier fight with Laxus is just now taking its toll!” Carla cried. Laxus paused for a split second before resuming fighting.   
“Are you serious Dragneel?!” he roared in frustration as he heard Mary Hughes begin to laugh.   
“I’m, like, totally going to die laughing at these losers!” she cackled.   
“We got these boys and girls all shook up,” Sugar Boys sang.   
“Guild Wizards are pushovers, I don’t see the appeal.” Laxus let out a growl as he fired right at the trio, only to have the slime block his attack. It looked as though there was no affect at all, which did little to lower his ire.   
Sugar Boy snapped his fingers and the slime slipped back into his clothes, leaving the Strauss family, Wakaba, Macao and Romeo on the ground, barely able to move. Max and Laki bent over panting heavily and the Exceeds hovered around the watchtower where they’d put Wendy.   
“Game, set and match. Ya ready to give up yet?” Coco boasted. Summer padded forward, snarling loudly, her golden eyes practically glowing.   
“They weren’t this strong last time!” Happy said nervously.   
“That’s because these people are completely different from the ones you met in Edolas,” Pantherlily reported. “For example, the Coco I knew would become physically ill at the thought of harming another living being. But this one…”  
“They’re the Coco, Hughes and Sugar Boy who’ve lived here in Earthland since the very beginning!” Carla cried in realization.   
“I get it. It’s like how Edolas had its own crazy versions of us,” Wendy said.   
“I guess we should’ve expected to run into someone eventually,” Lucy muttered.   
“What are you people talking about?!” Laxus hissed, turning towards Lucy.   
“We can explain once we’ve dealt with these guys,” Levy said.   
“You’re wasting too much time Lucy!” Mary Hughes called. “Hurry up or we’ll show your little friends here what we’re really capable of. Sugar Boy would love to sing another solo.” The woman chuckled.   
“I don’t know how likely Levy’s hope will be. Six of ours are down, Natsu’s barely coming around, Wendy’s still just learning, the Exceeds aren’t the most combat-ready, Max and Laki are running out of Magic Power, Kinana and Michelle have no Magic, Lexi and Erika are too young which leaves Laxus, Levy and I,” Sonya reported as she looked around.   
“But they still don’t know who Lucy is,” Laxus said as he took a step forward. “You all hurry and find Gramps. Just don’t keep us waiting too long.”   
“Not happening,” Sonya said as she knocked another arrow.   
“We’ll stay and fight with you,” Levy agreed. Laxus let out a low growl.   
“Just do what I say!” he snapped as Natsu started pushing himself up.   
“Don’t leave now, don’t you wanna play with us too?” Mary Hughes taunted. Natsu looked around and began stepping towards the three strangers, his legs wobbling. Romeo got up a little and summoned a small, yellow fireball.   
“Natsu, take this!” he called as he hurled it at the Fire Dragon Slayer, who smiled and thanked him before swallowing it down. Natsu paused before covering his mouth and nose and coughing in disgust.   
“Naphty!” he cried, sticking his tongue out at the putrid taste and smell.   
“Sorry about that, wrong flame!” Romeo apologized quickly. Natsu shook his head and summoned his own fireball in his hand.   
“Whatever, it’ll do the trick for now,” he assured before the inferno around his hands began to grow. “Feel the burn!” he yelled as he directed a pillar of fire at the trio. Laxus smirked slightly as he heard the girls begin leaving the grounds behind him. Suddenly the fire switched directions entirely and headed straight towards Laki and Max, the latter throwing up a sandstorm around the two just before it could reach them.   
“What the hell Dragneel?!” Laxus barked as he leapt into the air to avoid the fire heading towards him.   
“Why’s he attacking them, Miss Lucy?” Lexi asked as the blonde woman pulled her along after her.   
“I don’t know…But I think it might be one of those three. They weren’t nervous at all when Natsu shot at them,” she said. Laxus looked down and his eyes widened slightly. In Mary Hughes’ hand was a skeletal, mummified hand with rings on the fingers, the index finger pointing outwards and the skin was purple.   
“Eat this!” Natsu roared, blasting fire at the trio again.   
“Nope,” Mary Hughes chuckled as she moved the hand. Laxus watched as Natsu spun around, the fire instead heading right for the fleeing girls.   
“Watch out!” Laxus roared as he shot down towards Mary Hughes. He moved to punch her, only to end up with Coco managing to deliver a kick to his side that sent him sprawling as he felt some ribs crack.   
Sonya saw the fire coming at them and pulled all the girls against her before tackling them to the ground. The fire hit her back, burning her skin and she let out an ear-splitting scream.   
Lucy felt Sonya tackle her and everyone else and heard her Mate scream, feeling the pain racing through the girl’s back just as she felt Laxus’ ribs cracking as Coco kicked him. Her head smacked against the case of the memento and for a second a bright, silver flash filled her vision. Sonya let out another scream before Lucy felt the girl’s weight vanishing from on top of her. She looked up and let out a scream at the sight of Sonya. The girl had hit the rocky side of the mountain with enough force to crack the stone and leave an imprint of her shoulder, arm and side and even a well-sized dent where her head had struck before she dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes.   
Blood began leaking over the girl’s face and her arm was bent at a funny angle. Her back was still smoking and some of her hair was singed. Summer and Sagitta vanished as Laxus looked over, taking in the sight of his Mate.   
“Why you bitch!” he roared as he pushed himself up slowly, his ribs protesting.   
“Give us Lucy and no one else will have to get cooked,” Mary Hughes demanded. Laxus snarled and bared his teeth before a rock came sailing out of nowhere, hitting the sadistic woman in the temple. Laxus and the three intruders looked at where the rock had come from and Laxus’ breath caught in his throat when he saw Kinana with Erika on her back holding a few more rocks in one hand and had another ready to be thrown if needed. Her hands were shaking and the normally shy yet happy barmaid looked furious. Mary Hughes’ eyes became murderous.   
“Uh-huh. Sorry baby girl, but things are about to get real cruel,” Sugar Boy said.   
“Totally,” Mary Hughes agreed. “Get ready, top-heavy, I’m about to make you eat those rocks!” Laxus launched to his feet and charged at the trio again.   
“Run! Now!” he ordered before throwing up his arms to defend himself from Coco, catching her foot just before she could kick his chest.   
“So you still wanna play?!” she jeered. Laxus growled as he was sent flying from the kick, crashing into the watchtower and breaking through one of the posts.  
“Wendy!” Carla cried as the structure began to tip. Black spots swam in Laxus’ vision as he tried getting up. The blue-haired child climbed over the railing of the tower and leapt away from it. “What do you think you’re doing child?!” the white Exceed demanded.   
“SKY DRAGON WING ATTACK!” Wendy yelled, sending huge gusts of wind at the trio as well as knocking the watchtower back so it fell in the yard instead of on the Hall. Mary Hughes smirked.   
“Bad move, kid,” she said, moving her baton. Instead of hitting the trio, the wind picked up all four assembled Dragon Slayers and sent them flying.   
“No!” Lucy cried as she slowly pushed herself up. The memento’s case had cracked open on the pathway. “I gotta do something. Maybe summon a Spirit? Or maybe the Fleuve d’etoiles?!” Lucy pulled the handle off her belt and pushed some Magic into it. To her horror, nothing appeared.   
Laxus grabbed onto the other three Dragon Slayers and turned to lightning before he landed, all four of them rolling in the grass. Natsu gagged as his face turned green.   
“You puke on me, I swear I will fucking end you,” Laxus growled as Wendy hurriedly summoned her Magic. At least four of Laxus’ ribs were cracked and three were bruised, Natsu was motion-sick but the worst had to be Sonya. The fire had given her third-degree burns on her back and then smacking into the mountain had practically shattered half her ribs, cracked a quarter and bruised the rest, given her a concussion as well as a hairline fracture in her skull, and her right arm was snapped in two places and her shoulder was dislocated.   
The girl hesitated for a second before focusing on Laxus and Natsu. Their injuries were far smaller and would take less time to heal, thus they’d be back up and fighting and Wendy could focus on healing Sonya.   
“I’m sorry! It’s all my fault! I shouldn’t have attacked!” she wailed.   
“Don’t beat yourself up kid,” Laxus said as he felt relief flood his system and his ribs stop throbbing. Natsu sighed as well and Laxus shoved him off as Wendy focused on Sonya. It only took a few moments for Sonya’s eyes to open and the bleeding to stop.  
Lucy let out a small sigh when Sonya sat upright on her own before the blonde looked around. Macao, Wakaba and Romeo were still down, Elfman was practically crushing his sisters under his weight. Max and Laki were leaning on each other for support and Levy was sprawled out on the grass.  
“What do you want with Lucy?!” Pantherlily demanded as he and Rai hovered over the pathway in front of her and Happy and Carla went to check on their Slayers.   
“None of your business, fleabag,” Coco snapped. Lucy bit into her bottom lip slightly.   
“Show yourself Lucy. We’re, like, totes getting bored,” Mary Hughes droned. The blonde glared at the trio before standing up.   
“Just stop it! You have what you want now!” she said firmly, despite the fact her entire body felt like she was on Mount Hakabe again and was shaking beyond control. “Okay…”  
“I’m Lucy!” Lucy blinked. That hadn’t come from her mouth at all. Instead it had come from right behind her. The blonde turned to see Michelle standing tall and with a determined look on her face.   
“You huh?” Sugar Boy asked.   
“Be a good girl and park it right here,” Mary Hughes demanded. Michelle started walking forward.   
“What are you doing?” Lucy hissed as the other girl walked past.   
“I think there’s been enough violence for one day,” she stated simply as she came to a stop a few paces from Lucy. “What exactly do you want with me?”   
“That’s her, mama. You know a little darlin’ like this woulda grown up playin’ house at the Heartfilia Mansion,” Sugar Boy assured.   
“She certainly looks the part,” Coco said.   
“Well this is, like, disappointing. Considering she was once the daughter of the Heartfilia Konzern, I was expecting a total ditz, even if she is now a Celestial Wizard for the Fairy Tail Guild.”   
“Is this the concussion or is Michelle really our Lucy and we’ve been with Michelle all this time?” Sonya asked. Laxus blinked.   
“I don’t know. But I don’t think so.”   
“This is ridiculous! I’m Lucy Heartfilia!” Lucy yelled, making Coco look at the two girls questioningly. Michelle grabbed hold of Lucy’s hand and looked at her tearfully.   
“Miss Michelle. It means the world that you’re willing to protect me, but it’s far too late for any such deceptions to help us now,” Michelle said, tears appearing at the corners of her eyes.   
“Have you gone completely crazy?!” Lucy demanded as Michelle turned away, wiping at a tear.   
“They’re so perceptive, I’m sure they’d figure it out instantly. And I’d hate for anything to happen to you on my account! Please don’t try to be a hero!” she begged.   
“She’s not bad, but her performance is a little over the top,” Mira commented as Elfman wept openly.   
“Yea, she’s really into it, I guess?” Lisanna said.   
“So beautiful…So manly!” the final Strauss sibling said.   
“I tell you, I’m Lucy Heartfilia!” Michelle cried out to the trio.   
“Don’t listen to her, I’m Lucy!” the golden-blonde countered. Sugar Boy snapped his fingers.   
“The real Lucy Heartfilia’s supposed to be over twenty years old, ain’t that right? Isn’t pigtails a little on the young side?”   
“That’s because we spent seven years sealed away on an island!” Lucy replied.   
“Lucy, get back!” Laxus said with a smirk as he looked at Sonya. “I’ll make sure they don’t lay a finger on you!”   
“Right, because I’m Lucy!” Sonya said with a broad grin. Mary Hughes blanched.   
“You mean her name’s Lucy too?!” Coco cried.   
“You ready for another round Lucy?” Max asked as he stood up straight. Laki smiled.   
“Yep! Let’s do this!”   
“What’s going on here?!” all three of the intruders demanded at once. One by one, the others got up, Macao and Wakaba heading over to Levy.   
“Do you think that you can stand up yet Lucy?” the fire Wizard asked as Levy stood, cradling her arm.   
“Yea I think so.”   
“Just take it easy there,” Wakaba said gently.   
“There’s another one?!” Coco cried.   
“Is your Magic back too Lucy?” Mira asked her younger sister, suppressing a giggle.   
“Yep, fresh as a daisy, Lucy,” Lisanna replied before biting the inside of her cheek as Carla hurried over to Wendy.   
“Perhaps you’d consider flying with a professional, Lucy?” the Exceed asked.   
“Yes, thank you Lucy,” Wendy giggled.   
“How many are there?!” Coco cried.   
“This is so stupid!” Mary Hughes growled. Laxus scanned the yard quickly, catching sight of Kinana near the edge of the yard with Erika and Lexi nearby. Lexi was giggling as Kinana tried calming Erika down while calling her Lucy as well. “Here’s an idea, let’s just round them all up and sort them out later,” the woman snapped irritated.   
“Come on hound dogs!” Sugar Boys said, the green slime appearing from his clothes again. “Your captive audience wants an encore!”   
“Not happening!” Laxus roared as he fired a lightning bolt at the man, only to have it absorbed by the sludge. Natsu fired another massive attack. The green slime shot out and grabbed onto the Fire Dragon Slayer.   
“Lucy! Leave now!” he yelled as he struggled. Lucy’s eyes widened a little.   
“No…” Michelle grabbed the other girl’s hand and tugged.   
“Let’s go. They’re distracting them. This is our chance to sneak away unnoticed.” Lucy looked back at the others as they continued to fight. She bit her lip. There was the odd feeling of déjà vu as she turned and followed Michelle off the grounds.   
Mary watched as the two girls ran off and prodded Coco with her elbow.   
“See what I see?”   
“We got runners,” the child said with a smirk.   
“Fetch ‘em for me.”   
“On it!”   
“Oh no you don’t!” Laxus roared as he unleashed a bolt of lightning from his mouth. Coco leapt into the air, spinning a few times as she went higher and higher, small lacrimas on the sides of her sandals glowing as she did.   
“Is that Free Run?!” Sonya cried as she and Laxus turned to watch the girl land on the side of the mountain.  
“Looks like it,” Laxus sneered as she began running up the craggy mountainside. “That would explain how that kid managed to throw me so far when she’d kick me.”   
“I’ll weigh her down. SOLID SCRIPT: IRON!” Levy yelled with a swipe of her hand. The metal words appeared in the air and began to fall. Suddenly they moved to hover right over the two Dragon Slayers.   
“Levy!” Laxus yelled as he wrapped an arm around the girl beside himand leapt away just before the words fell where they’d been standing a second before. Mary Hughes giggled gleefully and Laxus let out a snarl as Natsu was dropped by the slime. Hughes waved her baton and Natsu’s body started sailing around the yard matching the pattern of the mummified finger.   
“SAND BLAST!” Max yelled, summoning a sandstorm.  
“WOOD MAKE: VIOLENT APPROACH!” Laki touched the ground and a massive spiked ball of wood appeared and shot at Mary Hughes. The man beside her simply smirked and the slime shot up to protect him from both attacks.   
“I gotta decline, baby. Sand and wood aren’t a good match for my little pups!” he said as the slime absorbed the wooden weapon and dust particles.   
“We didn’t even phase it!” the Sand Wizard snarled.   
“It’s just too strong.” Both Wizards flinched when Mary dropped Natsu right in front of Sugar Boy.   
“On the other hand, you can walk a mile in my shoes. What’s your star sign? It’s no fun being lonely,” the blonde male said, causing Natsu to let out a noise of confusion before Mary launched him at Sonya.   
Lucy leaned against a tree as she panted for breath. Michelle seemed completely unfazed by the running they’d just done.   
“They don’t seem to be following us. Perhaps we should attempt to find your Master?”   
“Yea, we should,” Lucy agreed before shooting a glare at the other girl. “But first, wanna tell me what that crazy stunt was about?!” she snapped. Michelle’s eyes widened and she brought her hand up to place her thumb at the bottom of her lip.   
“You-You were in danger. I was just trying to help you out,” she explained. Lucy placed her father’s memento against the trunk of a nearby tree and placed her hands on her hips.   
“I’m a Celestial Wizard, Michelle. If they’d caught me, I could’ve defended myself. But what would you have done if they managed to take you away instead?” The sandy-blonde’s blue eyes widened as realization dawned on her.   
“I…I don’t know.” Tears began welling in the girl’s eyes as her lip quivered. “I’m sorry… I didn’t really think that far ahead…I just did what I thought would be most helpful…I didn’t mean to cause any trouble!” she managed before her words turned to blubbering, tearful messes of syllables. Lucy wrapped her arms around the girl in a comforting embrace.   
“It’s okay. I’m not angry. No need for the waterworks,” she assured as she stroked Michelle’s back. The sandy-blonde’s sobs turned to open hiccups of wails. “Actually, it meant a lot, even if it was a bit dramatic. Thanks for protecting me at least, I owe ya one.”   
“You’re welcome,” Michelle sniffled as Lucy pulled back. The golden-blonde wiped at her relative’s tears with a gentle smile.   
“Dramatic is actually a bit of an understatement. But then again, I’m fairly sure I was when I first joined Fairy Tail…Only six months ago maximum for me?! Seriously?! But even when I was still so new, everyone made everything work out in the end with Phantom Lord, so it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t do the same for her,” Lucy thought to herself. “How could six months have really flown by so fast? I mean I was barely even there a month and then we made things work out in the Tower of Heaven and Fantasia, which only took…what a day or so for each? Then the Oracion Seis and the Dragonoid were all of a night within a week of each other. Then Edolas was…only a few days. And Tenrou Island was only a day and a night. Heck, during that one, Laxus even helped make sure everything worked out. And then Acnologia only took a few moments and then the Sphere and meeting Sonya, coming home, going on that job, adopting Erika and now that baby’s a month old!”   
“Big Sister?” Lucy snapped out of her thoughts. “Are you alright? You became very quiet.”   
“Yea. I’m fine. Just thinking is all. Speaking of, help me brainstorm, okay? What could these creeps want?”   
“Perhaps they’re the scoundrels behind the church fires like Kinana suspected?” Michelle offered as the two sat down on the roots of the tree.   
“Maybe…But I’m not a part of the Zentopian church so aside from the fact I find it cowardly to attack a place of religious worship, the churches don’t hold a lot of value to me. So attacking them to get to me doesn’t make sense.” A rustle in the trees nearby caught the attention of both girls as they stood again.   
“I finally caught up with you. You won’t get away again!” Lucy snapped around to see Coco hanging upside-down from a tree limb with her hands on her hips and a proud grin on her face.   
“Coco’s gone coo-coo,” Lucy muttered in a low tone as the child flipped herself over and landed on the ground. The blondes smiled at each other. “Follow my lead, we’ve got this,” the golden blonde whispered, receiving a nod from her companion.   
“Right.” Lucy smiled brightly.   
“Just in time, I was holding her for you! I’m tired of running so here’s the real Lucy Heartfilia!” Lucy cheered, gesturing to Michelle.   
“Wha?” Coco cried in surprise.   
“Wait, don’t let her fool you like that. She’s the honest to goodness Lucy in the flesh!” Michelle said just as happily as she gestured to her other blonde, who was now whistling.   
“Wait, huh?!” Coco cried, looking from one blonde to the other. Lucy giggled and gently poked Michelle’s side.   
“Real Lucy, you’re so naughty. I can’t believe you’d lie to save your own skin!”   
“Oh don’t be silly, you’re the really real one,” Michelle giggled. Coco looked between the two indecisively, trying to figure out what was going on.  
“Okay! You got me! I’ve been lying this whole time! I really am the really real Lucy!” Lucy cheered merrily as a hand brushed against the pouch on her belt, the Keys inside warming against her skin.   
“Or so you think. But you’re wrong because in reality I’m really the really real Lucy Heartfilia so there!” Michelle cheered, raising a hand.   
“I can’t…Brain not working…” Coco whimpered. Lucy felt a tug in her gut and suddenly, a pink-haired girl wearing a traditional maid’s uniform with shackled on her wrists attached to long chains appeared between the relatives and the poor, confused girl.   
“Don’t listen to them. I’m the real Princess you’re searching for!” she said in a flat tone. Lucy’s eyes widened as she gasped.   
“Virgo!? What the heck?! I didn’t summon her!” Lucy snapped her face back to normal and smiled at the maid. “Hey, what are you doing here, Princess?” she asked.   
“Helping you get out of this sticky situation of course,” Virgo answered as if she were simply discussing the weather.   
“What’s with all the Princess talk? You mean Lucy?” Coco asked.   
“You’re exactly right! I’m the real Princess so take me away!” Virgo said, holding out her arm. Coco smiled, relieved that this was becoming easy.   
“Then again I might be Lucy,” Lucy said absent-mindedly as she twirled a lock of hair around her finger. Coco pulled her hand back and looked at the golden blonde.   
“Or has it been me since the very beginning?” Michelle asked, raising her hand. Both blondes smirked slightly while Virgo remained completely blank-faced.   
“The truth is you’ve been Lucy this whole time!” all three said at once. Coco cried out, covering her ears.   
“I can’t take this!” she groaned. Lucy grabbed her father’s memento and all three took off.   
“That should keep her busy for a little while,” Virgo said as she led them through the woods.   
“Let’s hope so,” Michelle agreed.   
“Yea…But I can’t help feeling kinda guilty, you know?” Lucy said as she looked back at the poor, confused girl.   
Sugar Boy smirked as his slime began swallowing Laki and Max.   
“It’s now or never, baby. Unless you want my hounds to keep loving ya tender, you’ll tell me where I can find Lucy Heartfilia!” he demanded. Pantherlily shot up behind him in battle form, his sword flashing in the light as he swung at the blonde male. The slime shot up, blocking the blade. “Hmph! Your mode change almost caught me off guard. Lucky for me, I’ve seen it before.”   
“What?” the large Exceed growled before getting struck over the head by a flaming fist.   
“It’s not me I swear!” Natsu cried.   
“Beast Arm-”  
“Lightning Dragon-” Mary chuckled as she twirled her baton, causing Elfman to land a solid, metal fist into Laxus’ jaw, sending both males flying. Sonya grabbed Kinana and the children and leapt out of the way of the two.   
“Uncle Laxus!” Lexi cried. Laxus pushed himself up and shook his head, dazed. His shirt had been shredded, revealing his tattoo as the fight had progressed. Elfman’s hit made his jaw throb and the blonde was fairly certain he’d have a distinctive bruise for a few days after this.   
Rai let out a roar as he charged at Mary in battle form, his golden eyes flashing as he pounced. The woman merely laughed and sent the feline flying at Natsu. The pink-haired male ducked and Rai ended up crashing into the gate at the entrance of the walkway.   
“You’re pissing me off! It’s totes hard to fight with all these control spells!” Natsu growled.   
“Hey totes is my word chump! So, like, find your own slang!” Hughes objected.   
“Like, learn to fight fair instead of using live boogers and a stick!” Natsu screamed, frustrated.   
“Let’s get this show on the road,” Sugar Boy said as he began recalling his ooze. “I got a feeling that Coco’s chasing after the real-deal Lucy.”   
“Hear that poser? Your friend is totes as good as ours!” Hughes boasted. Sonya summoned her bow and knocked an arrow, aiming at the woman.   
“We’re not letting that happen!” she objected as Laxus growled, lightning dancing on his body.   
“You’re funny. You won’t have any choice in the matter. My conducting Art lets me control anyone!” Hughes explained with a chuckle as she pointed her baton at Sonya and the caramel-haired girl grit her teeth as she struggled to keep control of her own body.   
“Even if you move me, this arrow will hit right where I want it to! It’s a Celestial Spirit!” she yelled as Hughes made her take aim at Laxus.   
“I doubt it,” Mary shrugged.   
“You wanna test it? Because right now, while I normally wouldn’t ever want to take the life of another human, I’m wanting this arrow to bury itself in your heart!” Sonya warned, her blue eyes narrowing. Suddenly, Mary changed her own target to take control of Natsu instead. Sonya collapsed to her knees as the battle for control of her own body ended. The bow and arrow vanished in a golden shimmer and the woman sighed in relief.   
“There ain’t no way I’m ever letting you control me!” Natsu roared as Mary ignited his hands and began making him punch himself in the face.   
“Natsu’s in big trouble, Carla,” Wendy cried as the white Exceed attempted pulling her from the slime nearly covering the girl.   
“You should worry about yourself child!” she scolded.   
“Bring it home, puppet!” Mary jeered as she made Natsu throw a blast of fire at the ground. The flames shot up into the air, creating a wall between the Fairy Tail Wizards and their attackers. Laxus snarled as the wind created by the fire made everyone who wasn’t conscious go flying at their comrades. Erika continued to scream in both fear and discomfort as the heat passed over everyone in a wave, stealing the breath from their lungs and causing an immediate sheen of sweat to break out over their skin.   
It took a moment for the wall of fire to fall, revealing that Mary Hughes and Sugar Boy had fled the scene. Laxus growled as Natsu collapsed to his knees in exhaustion.   
“We’ve got to find Lucy and Michelle before they do,” Sonya said as she pulled out two Keys.   
“Right. Kinana, take the kids inside and tend to the wounded with Wendy. When anyone comes around, have them pitch in to get everyone patched up. Sonya, you and I will start looking for Lucy and Michelle. They can’t have gotten too far.”   
“Right.” Sonya held up two Keys. “Open! Gate of the Eagle, Aquila! Open! Gate of the Little Lion, Leona!” The two spirits appeared and Leona bowed her head respectfully to Sonya.   
“You called mi’lady?” she asked.   
“Yes. We need to find Lucy and Michelle. Laxus can fly and I wanted to talk with you about something,” Sonya explained as she raised her arm. The massive, golden eagle took off and circled in the air a little before grabbing Sonya and Leona’s arms in his talons and taking off with them. Laxus covered himself in lightning and took off as well to begin searching. He passed by Sonya and her Spirits before beginning to look through the woods.   
“What was it you wanted to talk to me about mi’lady?” Leona asked.   
“Something happened during the fight that I can’t stop thinking about.”   
“Explain.”   
“I tackled Lucy, Michelle, Levy and Kinana and then there was this silver flash. Next thing I know, I side-plant myself in the mountain.” Leona’s lips pursed slightly as she listened. “Do you know what happened?”   
“I might have an idea, mi’lady. Tell me, did you see anything in that flash?”   
“I saw…a star I think. The five-pointed kind that people draw,” Sonya said. Leona nodded.   
“As I suspected. It seems that in your panic, you may have tapped into Heavenly Body Magic, the Caster form of Celestial Magic,” Leona explained.   
“Heavenly Body?” Sonya muttered before she shook her head. “Thanks for explaining that. Now let’s focus on finding Lucy and Michelle.”   
“Understood mi’lady.” Aquila let out a squawk and flapped his great wings as they flew over the treetops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: Please leave a comment, kudos or bookmark if you liked!


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Legion Platoon leaves and Laxus learns more about his Dragon Slayer heritage.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: Ah. I first want to apologize for taking so long on this chapter. Inspiration was slow to come, and then when it struck my parents started limiting wifi. Sorry! I'll try getting better about updates over the school year. Enjoy the chapter!

Natsu growled as he stomped out the Guild Hall, Happy sitting on top of his head.

"That she-witch…Nobody uses me like their own personal firecracker! Nobody!" the Fire Dragon Slayer roared to the skies. Happy tumbled of his friend's head and his wings sprouted to stop his fall, instead allowing him to hover just behind Natsu as he growled and raged.

"Geez Natsu, quit freaking out already," Happy said. "You're acting like Lucy used to when we'd come into her place." The pink-haired boy sighed mournfully.

"If you say so. Hey! I just thought of something!"

"Wait, you're thinking?! Careful or you might hurt yourself!" the blue Exceed cried in a panicked voice.

"Shut up! Anyway, what I was thinking was that Lucy started hanging out with Laxus and acting all weird after Christmas Eve, when Erza was doing that weird game, remember?"

"Yea."

"Well, in all the stories I've heard, the princess is always saved by the hero and that's how they fall in love!"

"And?"

"Isn't it obvious? We gotta go save Lucy, then she'll realize her place is back in the Nest with Grey, Erza and me!"

"And we can keep all our fish in her fridge!" Happy cheered.

"So let's go find her!" Natsu declared. "I'm all fired up now!"

"Aye sir!" Happy said as he grabbed onto the Fire Dragon Slayer's shoulders and took to the skies.

 

Michelle screamed as Lucy dug through her Key pouch.

"I got this!" she yelled as she raised a Golden Key triumphantly. "Open, Gate of the Ram! Aries!" The pink-haired Spirit appeared with a squeal of apology before a massive amount of pink wool appeared, perfectly cushioning Lucy and Michelle's fall.

"I get so nervous whenever you call me! I hope I did okay!" Aries said quickly, checking over her Key-Holder for any injuries. Lucy smiled and patted the female's shoulder.

"That was absolutely perfect. Thank you," she said gently as Aries directed the wool to deposit all three of them on the ground and drop the memento at Lucy's feet.

"Wow. That was a close one," Michelle sighed in relief.

"I , like, so don't know what your damage is, but you, like, don't know when to give up!" Mary Hughes yelled from her cliff. Aries stepped in front of her Key Holder and glared at the woman, trying to be as intimidating as possible despite her trembling arms and knees. "I'll show you!" Mary called as she launched off the cliff after the girls.

"Aries, I need you to go home," Lucy said quickly as she picked up the memento and the Ram Spirit vanished into golden dust. The blonde Celestial Wizard pulled out another Key from her pouch. "Open, Gate of the Golden Bull! Taurus!"

The bull appeared with a long bellow.

"Looks like you need help protecting a babe at the bottom of a cliff Miss Luu-cy!" he said before turning a wild grin at the girls. "Have I told you lately that you have a really nice body?" Michelle squeaked and Lucy let out an annoyed snarl.

"I'd give you an earful, but we don't have time for that right now! Just hurry and beat her up!" the blonde Key Holder ordered, pointing at Mary Hughes. She could only imagine Laxus' reaction to Taurus' comments and she knew she'd need to discuss this issue with the Bull Spirit soon, preferably before a certain Lightning Dragon Slayer decided to get pissed.

Taurus let out a bellow as he pulled his axe from his back. "You can udderly count on me!"

"You're totes nuts if you think a cow can beat me! As if!" Mary said as she pointed her baton at the Spirit. He merely smirked and swung his weapon at her. Mary gasped and flipped herself in midair, just barely missing the edge of Taurus' weapon. The excess of the red tie around her neck had been sheared so short that the knot came undone as she landed just beyond Taurus' reach.

"She's not controlling him, is she?!" Michelle cried, excited.

"I knew it! Her Magic Power can only control humans! So it has no effect on Celestial Spirits," Lucy declared as Taurus took another swing at the purple-and-white-haired woman. She leapt back and away and growled. Taurus paused in his movements and after a moment, dropped his axe into the ground. "Why'd you stop Taurus? What's wrong?" Lucy cried.

"Holy cow!" Lucy glanced around Taurus' hulking form. Mary's snarling face turned red and her eyes widened. Lucy looked the girl over and froze at seeing the top part of Mary's shirt. It must've gotten caught on the edge of Taurus' axe at one point or another because there was a clean line that now exposed the top of the girl's breasts and cleavage. "I know that you really want me to fight her, but she's got a nice body too!"

"Who cares?! What's that got to do with anything?!" Lucy demanded, feeling her own face begin to heat up. She remembered plenty of times where Team Natsu's antics had resulted in the humiliating destruction of her clothes, rendering her practically nude in front of people. Mary had probably never experienced this, if the tears that were now appearing in her dark eyes were any indication.

"I can't attack her because I just wanna smoo-ch her!" Taurus declared.

"Go away!" his Key Holder barked, all but throwing his Key back into her pouch.

"Is it just me or do all of your Celestial Spirits…have incredibly unique personalities?" Michelle asked. The Wizard began rubbing circles into her temples, already feeling a headache coming on.

"No kidding. That's an extremely polite way of putting it. But at least they're consistent." Lucy stopped rubbing circles and began digging around in her pouch again. "What am I doing wasting time like this?" she asked herself as she pulled out another Golden Key. "Scorpio, you're up!"

"Wicked!" the Scorpion Spirit cheered as he appeared. "You just leave this to me Lucy, aw yea!"

"Yep…Definitely unique," Michelle said with a nod.

 

Laxus and Sonya watched as Coco circled the mountainsides around them, Pantherlily and Rai both keeping close by.

"What should we do?" Sonya asked.

"We have to defeat her," Rais said as he and Pantherlily transformed into their battle forms, a grave look on the black Exceed's face. "Pantherlily and I will handle her. You two go and find Lucy."

"Right," Laxus said with a nod before turning and flying away.

"You're not going anywhere!" Coco yelled as she launched herself at the Slayers. Rai immediately grabbed the back of her clothes in his mouth and threw her away from the Wizards, Pantherlily following only a second behind him with his sword still strapped to his back.

"Remain focused, Pantherlily. Whoever it was in Edolas who looks like this girl is an entirely different person, who means to harm our Guild and family."

"Don't have to explain it to me," Pantherlily said as he watched the girl run circles on the mountainside closest to them. "I understand that this Coco and my Coco only share appearances and are not the same person. But even knowing that, I still hesitate to think of harming her."

"We don't need to harm her. We simply have to keep her away from Laxus, Lucy and Sonya," Rai explained.

"Right."

 

"Hey Natsu, my arms are getting tired, haven't you picked up Lucy's scent yet?" Happy whined. Natsu sniffed madly at the air, a scowl forming on his face.

"No. There's this really weird smell that keeps getting in the way. And it's really old," he said with a look of disgust.

Suddenly a mass of green slime shot into the air, making Happy swerve to avoid hitting it and both Dragon Slayer and Exceed yelled in surprise.

"Natsu, down there!" Happy cried, making Natsu look down at a clearing where a clearing in the forest was and standing right in the middle of it was Sugar Boy.

"If you're lonesome tonight, my hound dogs would love to keep ya company," he sang.

"Bring it on! I owe ya for earlier! Hope you're in the mood for deep-fried loogies ya jerk!" Natsu bellowed as Happy slowly lowered them to the ground.

"Hmph! You're so sweetly naïve, hot boy. But I happen to hate sweet food and sweet people so I'm afraid this convo's over," the blonde Wizard said with a slight sneer at the end.

"How does he feel about people who have sweet names?" Happy muttered to himself. Suddenly, a massive wind blew the Exceed over, making him and Natsu crash into the ground.

"Sugar Boy, you mustn't let short term matters distract you from the task at hand." The Fire Dragon Slayer snapped around and stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed at the massive creature before him. He could clearly make out tentacles nearby and a large dome with spikes and something on top of it that looked vaguely human and something else that almost looked like a hook.

"Where did that come from?" Natsu muttered.

"A big old octopus that walks on land?" Happy added as he huddled behind Natsu, just barely peeking past the pink-haired teen.

"Have you found Lucy Heartfilia yet?" the gruff voice asked.

"I think the little chickadee will be ours momentarily Lord Vyro," Sugar Boy responded with a bow of his head.

"Vyro?! As in the creepy dwarf who tried to drain me and Wendy's Magic in Edolas?!" Natsu growled as he stood up.

"He's an octopus?" Happy questioned, tilting his head to the side.

"Earthland Vyro is nothing like the Edolas one," the Fire Dragon Slayer sighed, bored.

"Now don't be a fool hot boy! Lord Vryo's the one sittin' on top of the octopus!" Sugar Boy chastised, pointing at the human figure on top of the octopus' head.

"Wha? On top of it?!" Natsu looked up and the figure there slowly came out of the darkness. He had short silver hair and one small collection of hair on each side of his chin, almost looking like the spikes of the octopus he was riding. He was dressed in a dark purple shirt and a black tunic under a silver breastplate and shoulder pads. Silver gauntlets adorned his wrists. He wore baggy white pants tucked into tall black boots and in one hand he held a long staff that was seemingly made of bone and at the top it was curled to look like a crescent moon. There were a few small scars on the visible parts of his body, representing a lifetime of battles he'd fought and survived. His face was stern and the air around him practically vibrated with power and authority.

"He's way different than the other guy!" both Happy and Natsu cried upon seeing the man. Lord Vyro turned back to Sugar Boy.

"We're here to obtain the Heartfilia girl, not play with this boy and his cat. Eliminate them at once and once that's done, return to the mission at hand or else," he ground out.

"You got it boss man," Sugar Boys said with a salute. Lord Vyro looked back at Natsu.

"Happy," Natsu said, his fists clenching. His Inner Dragon was practically roaring in his skull. This man was the leader of the group who'd barged into his territory, attacked his home and family, and was making one of his lackeys fight Natsu instead of taking on the Fire Dragon Slayer himself? Not on Natsu's watch. "Do you think riding on that thing is going to make me sick?"

"Why would you ask such a stupid question?! It's clearly not a vehicle!" the Exceed yelled.

"Well anything that big is automatically a vehicle in my eyes!" Natsu defended before he gulped down the urge to vomit. "Just looking at it is making me nauseous."

"You're such a baby," the blue feline teased.

"Let's get spicy!" Sugar Boy said as he shot his hound dogs at Natsu.

"You want spicy? I'll give ya straight up blazin'! FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" Natsu bellowed as he shot fire at the attack. Vyro held up a hand and immediately the pillar of flames vanished.

"Your flames…they…vanished!" Happy cried. Natsu growled.

"Nice try son, but you ought to know that your great balls of fire ain't got nothing on Lord Vyro," Sugar Boy said.

"How come no one bothered to tell me that?!" Natsu yelled before he leapt out of the way of Sugar Boy's oncoming attack. "FIRE DRAGON WING ATTACK!" he roared, unleashing twin spirals of fire. This time, Sugar Boy's slime enveloped the fire, smothering the flames within itself.

"No! It was absorbed!" Happy cried, covering parts of his eyes as the fight began looking worse and worse for Natsu. Sugar Boy began thrusting his hips back and forth.

"Now doggies, come on! Crazy Arms!" The large mass of slime shaped itself into a hand and smacked Natsu away as if he was nothing more than an annoying fly. The pink-haired Dragon Slayer crashed into

"Eliminate them, quickly," Vyro growled at his underling.

"Got ya covered big boss man," the blonde said as the octopus turned and left, taking Vyro with it.

"Hey octopus freak! Just where do you think you're going?!" Natsu demanded at the retreating figures.

"Lord Vyro ain't got the time to deal with you," Sugar Boy sneered. Happy neared Natsu and hid behind his leg.

"What are we going to do? If you touch it, it'll drain your Magic Power and no Magic hurts it."

"There's only one thing to do. I ain't losin' to that blob! I'll burn it to a crisp!" Natsu declared as he charged.

"Wait a minute! Natsu!" Happy cried. But Natsu wasn't listening.

"FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST!" he bellowed, burying his fist in the slime. Sugar Boy shook his head with a disapproving hum.

"You really shoulda listened to your blue suede friend, hot boy," he said before snapping his fingers. Natsu yanked his hand out of the slime just as it turned into a raging pillar of fire.

"It turned into fire?!" Natsu cried as he leapt back in surprise. Standing next to that thing was nearly unbearable. He shivered at the sudden loss of heat as he landed.

"Uh-huh, my doggies don't just absorb Magic attacks. They take 'em in and make 'em their own like a real good cover tune!" the blonde man cheered before he sang some unintelligible words into his microphone.

"So…Sugar Boy's Magic basically feeds off his opponent's power. The more you attack it, the bigger and stronger it becomes," Happy observed.

Suddenly the hand curled itself into a fist and shot down on top of Natsu, making him cry out in pain as the force formed a crater around him and knocked him flat on his back.

"Oh no!" Happy cried as the fist retreated, leaving Natsu to gasp and cough for breath in the crater.

"You surprised? Ya shouldn't be. Ya just said it yourself. The more mojo that goo absorbs the stronger and stronger that it becomes. So tell me do ya get it now? Ya pretty blue kitty cat?" Sugar Boy said to the feline.

"Don't give me some weird nickname, freak-azoid!" Happy yelled, fur bristling. The fist began moving, preparing to strike again. "Run! Natsu!"

"I…I wish I could lil buddy," Natsu wheezed before the fist slammed down on him again, making him release some odd mix of a cough and a scream. "Bu' I don' think this slimy fire…is gonna le' me do tha'," he panted before the fist came down again, causing another odd noise from the Dragon Slayer teen. The rocks in and around the crater began turning red as the fist continued slamming him into them.

"I'll be taking any requests you got to finish you off, hot boy. Go on and say the word," Sugar Boy encouraged. Happy ran forward until the heat under his paws was nearly unbearable.

"Natsu!" he cried. Natsu pulled in a wheeze of a breath and began trying to shift himself to the edge of the crater.

"Happy…fly me outta here," he huffed with a wince.

"What're you planning to do?" the feline asked.

"Just do it!" Natsu yelled. Happy paused for a second before summoning his wings.

"Aye sir!" The Exceed lifted his friend from the hot stones and took to the skies. Natsu normally felt warmer than a regular human, but now the temperature Happy felt under his paws was akin to holding onto a burning match for almost too long.

"There ain't no getting' away from me! My hound dogs're gonna get ya!" Sugar Boy declared as the slime shot up after the feline and Dragon Slayer.

"Happy, listen," Natsu wheezed, holding onto his side. "I want ya to fly me over that slime and drop me into the middle of it."

"Are you out of your mind?! I can't do that to you! That thing'll drain all your Magic Power!"

"Just trust me!" Happy grit his teeth.

"Aye!" He didn't fully agree but he didn't have a better plan and the fiery slime was catching up. Happy turned around in midair and flew right towards what was coming after them. He held his breath as they neared and waited until the heat was almost unbearable before releasing his hold on Natsu. "Here ya go!"

"I've had enough of your stubborn sliminess!" Natsu bellowed as he dove flaming fist first into the pillar of flaming slime.

"Wow, talk about a dumb move, hot boy. You know wise men say only fools rush in," Sugar Boy taunted. "That's spicy."

"I wish I knew what you were trying to do," Happy mused as he watched the pillar slowly retreat towards Sugar Boy. "Wait a second… is he?"

Natsu focused on the fire he felt inside his belly, trying to make it bigger and stronger and forcing it outwards. His ears popped from the pressure and right behind his eyes began to hurt, as if he was constipated and trying to poop too hard. With a yell and a final push, Natsu felt the heat of the fiery slime nearly vanish entirely. Some was stuck on his clothes, face and hands but for the most part, he was free.

"No! My doggies ate so much of his witchcraft they went ka-blewy!" Sugar Boy cried as Natsu began falling through the air right at him. "Get back, jack!" the blonde yelled as he threw up his own fist, meeting with Natsu's slime-covered one.

Natsu landed on his feet and both men stared at their hands, now stuck in enough of the slime to encase their arms to the elbow.

"Uh-oh, looks like you're stuck," Natsu said through a grin as he ignited the hand still trapped in the ooze, making it expand like a bubble.

"Leggo o' my hand, man. I'm tellin' ya if it absorbs anymore of your crazy mojo, it's gonna blow both of us sky-high," Sugar Boy warned.

"You probably should've thought about that before you attacked me! If we blow up, it's your fault!" Natsu accused as he pushed against Sugar Boy, making the man teeter on one leg.

"Thinking you're gonna give me and my hound dogs the blues is like dreamin' the impossible dream man," the blonde male retorted as he pushed back to stand solidly on two feet. Natsu smirked.

"I'm still gonna broil your arm, watch me!"

"I got my mojo working too!" Sugar Boy shot back, both of them pushing their heads against each other. Happy tilted his head slightly as he landed, watching the fight.

"What're they doing? This is the weirdest fight ever." he commented. Natsu covered his free hand in flames and began aiming punches at Sugar Boy's face, only to have the man slip to one side or the other, just managing to keep from being hit.

"Just let me hit ya, dang it! Come 'ere!" the pink-haired boy roared, frustrated. Sugar Boy twisted his own arm, causing Natsu to stop attacking as he fell to his knees, gripping his elbow in pain.

"Now that's enough. This has been fun, but you need to get your hand outta mine. I don't mean to be cruel or anything but this is kinda weird. Ya see, I just don't wanna be some other guy's teddy bear."

"I ain't holding your hand because I want to bonehead!" Natsu objected.

"If you're gonna be a hard-headed woman about it, I'm just gonna need to beat the snot outta you until ya let go," Sugar Boy said before raising his microphone. Natsu let out a noise of confusion before the staff came down, striking him across the head. His ears rang and the only thing he had to help him register another hit was the pain in his neck from suddenly jerking his head to the side.

Suddenly his entire arm felt like it had been dunked in ice water and the Fire Dragon Slayer leapt back away from the chill.

"Geez Grey! You nearly broke my arm ya know!" Natsu screamed into the air, knowing the Ice Wizard's scent anywhere.

"I saved your hide so quit complainin'," Grey said as he stepped out of the trees and shrubbery. His dark eyes looked over at the man Natsu had been fighting and he stiffened as he recognized the blonde hair and cleft chin.

"I'll call you ice boy," Sugar Boy said, pointing at the Ice Wizard. "Whoo that's spicy."

"I'm not answering to some weird nickname! What the heck are you doing here anyway?!" Grey demanded, trying to hide the shudder making its way down his spine in a similar manner to how he'd react to Juvia's acts of devotion.

"It's not what you think Grey!" Happy yelled, running towards the Ice-Make Wizard. "This isn't the guy we met, this is Earthland's Sugar Boy!"

"Huh?!" the dark-haired male asked, trying to wrap his head around the idea.

"Like how Edolas had weird versions of us, Earthland has versions of people from Edolas!" Natsu barked in explanation.

"Seriously?!" Grey cried, looking at the man.

"Yea I'm being serious! Why? You think I'd play around with something like this or make it up?"

"There's been plenty of times where you've made up some pretty crazy stuff to try getting out of trouble, but you're just not smart enough to make up a story like that," Grey sighed. Natsu shot to his feet and all but slammed his head against Grey's in challenge.

"What're you trying to say?! That you think I'm a dummy?! I'm a good-for-nothing idiot?!"

"You took the words right outta my mouth, ash breath!"

"Why you!" Natsu swung a punch at Grey and Happy sighed as their typical brawl ensued. He turned towards where Sugar Boy had been just a short time ago, only to find the man had vanished.

"So lame," the Exceed muttered as he looked back at the fighting duo.

 

Scorpio shot a long blast of sand at Mary, only to have her flip over it and start zig-zagging closer towards them.

"Hurry Scorpio! Shoot her again!" Lucy cried.

"You got it, I'll hit her this time! SAND SPEAR!" Mary Hughes ducked to the side and pointed her baton at the trio.

"That's not gonna work on Scorpio either!" Lucy declared before a sudden tickle in her belly and she felt her feet leave the ground.

"Lucy!" Michelle cried as the blonde Celestial Wizard went flying over her Spirit's head, right at his attack. "Look out!"

"Ngh!" Scorpio grunted as he twisted his massive tail away from Lucy, successfully avoiding hitting his Key-Holder but the attack still struck Michelle and sent her flying with a scream of pain.

"Michelle!" Lucy cried as she snapped her head around. She covered her mouth to both muffle the gasp of horror and prevent herself from vomiting. The whole of Michelle's arm that had been hit by Scorpio's attack was red with blood, the precious fluid staining her dress.

"Aw man! That is totally my bad!" Scorpio said as his means of an apology. Neither Wizard nor Spirit saw Mary smirk darkly.

 

"What is it Kanoloa?" Vyro asked as the octopus slowed in his movements. "You've found something, haven't you? Yes, I sense it as well." Kanoloa finally came to a stop just before a clearing. Vyro stood up to full height on top of the octopus. On the opposite side of the clearing, still somewhat hidden in the shadows of the trees stood a tall figure. Moonlight reflected off metal where it managed to breach through the leaves.

"So you're the one I sensed. I must admit you hold an impressive amount of Magic Power," he said to the figure.

"Ya don't say," the figure said, completely unimpressed by Vyro's assessment.

"I know who you are good sir, your reputation precedes you. The most powerful Wizard of the Fairy Tail Guild's elite S-Class, Gildarts Clive." Gildarts stepped out of the shadows and smirked at Vyro.

"Well, I don't know who you are, but you must have a death wish if you're messing with Fairy Tail," Gildarts said with a shrug, as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

"I don't necessarily have business with your Guild," Vyro explained, equally nonchalant.

"Is that so?" The two Wizards stood in silence for a moment before the rustling of leaves made them both look behind Gildarts as Jason neared, the reporter letting out a cheer.

"I thought I told you to quit following me," Gildarts groaned.

"But this is my big chance ya know! '24 hours with Gildarts; A Journey into Light and Shadow.' I can't believe I get to start writing it now! I'm about to witness one of the coolest face-offs ever! The last showdown was awesome but this one's against a freaking octopus! COOOL!" Jason cried with a shiver of excitement. Gildarts sighed and looked back at Vyro.

"I don't know which one of you I should take down first. The octopus, or you." The eyes of the silver-haired man narrowed slightly.

"If you continue to threaten me, Gildarts, I will be forced to eliminate you." Gildart's own eyes narrowed before he leapt into the air and unleashed a small amount of his Crush Magic at Vyro. The man merely waved his hand and the trees behind him exploded into hundreds of tiny blocks. Gildarts landed on top of the octopus and narrowed his eyes at the warrior before him, curious as to how the man was still standing completely whole.

"You say you're gonna eliminate me. But it looks like all you did was get out of the way," the Crush Wizard observed.

"No. I did nothing of the sort. I simply Neutralized your Magic. More precisely, I dispersed your attack and re-directed it around me. It was far from a defensive maneuver," Vyro explained.

"That's some trick," Gildarts said, ignoring the reporter rambling behind him.

"It is indeed. I'd show you more but I don't have the time to waste fighting you right now. My comrades and I are on an important mission."

"And what's that?" Vyro merely smirked at Gildarts' question.

"Please attack me. It'll give me reason to destroy you," he growled out, gesturing encouragement to the orange-haired Wizard. Gildarts shot forward and swung to punch the man but Vyro blocked it with the curve of his staff. Neither one struggled to hold their ground against the other.

"You're stronger than I thought you were," Gildarts observed before leaping back.

"Same goes for you," Vyro replied in a dull tone. The Crush Wizard smirked and unleashed a stronger wave of his Crush Magic. Vyro swung his hand and the attack simply decimated the ground behind the two, making Kanoloa sink somewhat into a crater of cube-shaped rocks.

"He Neutralized your attack again! Man, this dude is fricking awesome! So cool!" Jason cheered.

"Stand down. I won't ask again," Vyro warned.

"Go ahead and make me, that is, if you think you can," Gildarts challenged.

"Very well. I'm afraid you leave me with no other choice," Vyro said with a sigh.

 

Lucy took a deep breath as she observed her situation. She was beginning to run low on Magic, Michelle was unconscious and bleeding, Mary still had her baton and while she couldn't control Scorpio or any other Celestial Spirits, she could still control Lucy and Michelle. But she could only control one at a time within a certain distance of her.

The blonde gripped her father's memento and bit her lip.

"Maybe…I can use this. I don't want to really hurt her, but if we can capture Mary Hughes, we can probably get some information out of her," Lucy thought as she began fiddling with the wrappings. "It's worth a shot I guess." Mary's eyes gleamed as Lucy unwrapped the bottom of the memento just enough to see the brass, wood and a few of the runes. "Scorpio, head on home. I think I've got this." With that, Scorpio vanished in a shimmer of golden light.

 

Gildarts growled as yet another of his attacks was Neutralized, further destroying the landscape around the fight, while leaving Vyro perfectly intact.

"You're starting to get on my last nerve buddy," the Crush Wizard warned.

"I feel exactly the same about you," Vyro stated.

"Tell me, what exactly is your goal here? You wanna tell me why you're destroying our Guild?"

"We're destroying your Guild? What nonsense," Vyro said as he shook his head.

"Whooo! Your reporter friend just remembered some sweet info!" Jason cried, catching the attention of both Wizards. "His name is Vyro Cracy, he's with the Legion Platoon!" Gildarts looked back at his opponent with a questioning look.

"What's the Legion Platoon?" he asked, loud enough so that Jason could hear him.

"Zentopia has followers not just in Fiore, but all over the world! Not much is known about the Legion Platoon aside from the fact that it's a combat unit tied to the church's dark past. I've heard its comprised of warriors who've undergone training most priests can't even endure!" Jason reported swiftly.

"So what does this mysterious combat unit want with the Fairy Tail Guild?" Gildarts asked.

"That's none of your business," Vyro stated simply. Gildarts' eyes narrowed.

"Really?!" He unleashed more of his Magic Power as he charged the Wizard, throwing punches and kicks that Vyro managed to block and match as he simultaneously Neutralized Gildarts' Magic. "When somebody attacks my Guild, it's definitely my business! Although, being honest, I'm not too worried because Fairy Tail never goes down without a fight. However, I'm not willing to take any chances because one of the Guild's members is my daughter." Vyro swung his staff, only for the curve to get caught on Gildarts' prosthetic arm.

"Oh? Don't worry. We mean no harm to your daughter. We want Lucy Heartfilia." For a split second, Gildarts' eyes widened before they darkened slightly.

"What do you want with her?" he growled. Both Wizards jumped back slightly.

"My, suddenly there's a serious look in your eye," Vyro observed with a smirk. "This is very serious to us as well. We were given this task by the Arch Bishop of Zentopia. This is Holy War."

"Holy War?" GIldarts repeated under his breath, as if trying to remember something.

"Yes, this war will change everything. There is no stopping it," Vyro said before lifting his staff into the air. A light began glowing from the end and GIldarts could sense the pure Magic Power growing in the object.

"Run kid!" he barked. Jason let out a noise of confusion and Gildarts suppressed the urge to growl. "I suggest you do what I say right now unless you wanna die in the field! So run!" Jason immediately ran off and Gildarts waited until the blonde was gone before he took a deep breath. "Well?" Vyro lowered his staff and charged the Crush Wizard again. They met with enough force to send out a wave of wind from their fists.

 

"I totes found ya!" Mary cried as she pointed her baton right at Lucy. The blonde stiffened and gripped the memento tightly. "Geez. That took longer than I thought. I guess if we'd actually known what you look like, it would've been totes easy."

"Wake up! Michelle! I need help!" Lucy cried, trying to make it look like she was struggling to escape. If her plan was going to work, she'd need to get close to Mary without alarming the woman.

"It's too late now. What are you waiting for?! Like, seriously, get over here!" Mary ordered, pulling her baton towards herself. Lucy's leg moved forward and the blonde tried keeping it back. Her muscles almost screamed at the effort as half felt pulled towards Mary and the rest felt pulled in the opposite direction. Lucy pulled a little more on the wrappings, trying to get more space to touch Mary with.

Once she was within arms' reach Lucy's arms began to lower the memento towards Mary.

"Don't tell me that this is what you're after," Lucy growled.

"Yep. That's all. Hand it over, and I won't hurt ya. Wait, did you seriously think we were after you, 'cause you're so totes wrong."

"This is my father's memento and he left it to me! There's no way I'd ever let you have it!"

"That just makes it more fun for me!" Mary cheered, a gleam appearing in her eyes that made a shiver run down Lucy's spine. "I'm totes into stealin stuff that's important to others! I love it!"

"No please! Stop! Michelle! You gotta wake up!" Lucy yelled before she took a deep breath and shoved the memento at Mary, touching the bare part to the woman's bare bicep. A smirk bloomed across Lucy's face for a split second before Mary's arms wrapped around the memento.

"Sweet!" she cheered before waving her baton. Lucy fell onto her side on the ground, still staring at the purple-and-white-haired woman. The memento had drained Michelle of energy by touching it without the wrappings, but why hadn't it done the same to Mary? "This is so awesome! The Arch Bishop's gonna freak!" Mary pulled a lacrima from her pocket and launched it into the air.

Lucy turned her head to hide her face in shame. She'd failed. She was supposed to protect her father's memento, and instead she'd shoved it into the arms of the enemy. She was supposed to be smarter than this! She was the daughter of the Heartfilia Konzern, the Mate to Laxus Dreyar and Sonya Vern, both Dragon Slayers. She was supposed to be strong! If she wasn't strong enough to protect an inanimate object, how could she hope to protect her Spirits, or her Pack?

Memories of Phantom Lord, Laxus' mocking her after the fact, every time she'd had to be rescued because of her own weakness, even earlier tonight when she'd run away from her friends and family as they fought off those who were looking for her flashed before her eyes and she felt hot tears sting her cheeks as her fists clenched, making her nails dig into her skin.

She wouldn't need to hear it from everyone at the Guild. She already knew what they'd think. She was weak, worthless, and just as Laxus had said after Phantom Lord, she was nothing but a wanna-be-Wizard, a runaway debutante.

Had she seriously thought that by being closer to Laxus and Sonya, closer to the Thunder Legion, further away from Natsu, Erza and Grey that she'd somehow get stronger? Natsu, Erza and Grey had made it clear that they accepted her for her weakness and took care of her. All they asked for in return was for some food, a place to crash for some private team time, and to be involved in her life.

Lucy curled into a ball as her stomach churned and her cheek began to feel wet against the rocks.

 

Gildarts unleashed another wave of Magic, only for Vyro to Neutralize it.

"Tell me. Why are you and your pals after Lucy?" he demanded.

"Strictly speaking, we have no business with the girl herself. She has something that we want," Vyro said before charging Gildarts, this time with the end of his staff alight with power. Gildarts barely managed to slip to the side, sending some Magic into his hand in an attempt to hit Vyro in a spot he'd left open, only to have the man slam his elbow down into Gildarts' wrist, Neutralizing the Magic and blocking the attack. Vyro swung the staff at the Crush Wizard's head, only to have the man duck and roll away to send another spell at him. Vyro Neutralized it and swung at Gildarts' legs, missing by barely even a hair's breath. Both men leapt back, landing in a crouch.

They remained like that for a moment, both panting slightly.

Suddenly, a massive hand came down, karate-chopping the octopus' head. The creature let out a scream that sent Gildarts rolling back to the ground.

"It's rare to see you struggle in battle Gildarts." The orange-haired Wizard chuckled as Makarov stepped into view, massive hand at the ready.

"True, Master. But it's not every day I'm faced with a giant octopus." Makarov glared at the creature and its rider.

"If this man and his pet were responsible for the attack on our Guild, then justice needs to be served."

"Understood sir," Gildarts said as he stood up so he was back-to-back with the miniature Third Master.

Suddenly, a light shot into the air, emmiting an eerie green glow.

"A signal flare?" Makarov asked as he ans the Crush Wizard observed it. Vyro smirked.

"It would seem that we've obtained the Clock Hand!" he said quietly before sitting down on Kanoloa. The octopus leapt away from the two, leaving them wondering what the Wizard had meant.

 

Laxus landed in a clearing and set Sonya down before he bent over to pant for breath.

"You okay?" Sonya asked, taking a couple steps back.

"Yea. Fine. I just need to catch my breath for a second is all," he said dismissively. Sonya nodded.

"That fight and this searching is taking more out of us than we thought," she muttered.

"Especially out of you," Laxus chuckled.

"Oh ha ha, very fucking funny, asshole," the caramel-haired Wizard snapped, flipping her Alpha off.

"Yes it was," he agreed with a smirk. Sonya glared.

"I fucking fell out of the freaking sky, shit myself in fear because I nearly died, and you laugh. Some Alpha you are," she sneered with a smirk and a smack to his shoulder. Right after the action, she paused and looked down at her hand, some spark of recognition coming alive in her mind but she couldn't place where for the life of her. "That's weird."

"Whoa, déjà vu," Laxus said with a shake of his head.

"You too?" Sonya asked. "Now this is starting to freak me out."

"How so? Shouldn't this be part of the whole Mate thing?" Laxus asked.

"Well…not really. Experiencing simultaneous déjà vu and all that would be a bit later, closer to Covenant Veil kinda stuff. Aside from that, I tend to have prophetic dreams, so déjà vu is not that new to me. But I don't remember having any dreams like this or anything like it."

"So basically, you shouldn't be feeling déjà vu but you are anyway." Sonya nodded.

"Thus, weird."

"Understandable." The two shared a slight chuckle before a light shot into the sky, bathing the forest in an eerie pale-green glow.

"What the heck?"

"I don't know," Laxus muttered as he grabbed Sonya's arm. "But we're gonna find out." In a matter of seconds, they landed at the bottom of a series of cliffs where Lucy was curled into a ball and Michelle lay a few meters away, her arm still bleeding everywhere.

"Open, Gate of the Firebird! Phoenix!" Sonya cried, yanking the Silver Key from her pouch. The creature immediately set to work on Michelle as Laxus hurried over to Lucy and placed a hand on her shoulder. The blonde female flinched and curled further into herself.

"Lucy, come on, talk to us, what's the matter?" Sonya asked as she neared. Lucy didn't even turn to look at them, yet both Dragon Slayers could sense her sadness, remorse, and self-loathing through the link. "Oh Lucy," Sonya sighed as she knelt down and pulled the girl into her lap.

"Mi'lady," Phoenix said as she stepped away from Michelle, revealing her completed work.

"Thank you. Head on back. I'll call if we still need you at the Guild Hall." The Phoenix bowed and vanished. "Laxus, you grab Michelle and then teleport us to the Guild, okay?" The blonde male nodded and did as told. Never once did Lucy attempt to move from Sonya's hold or look up at her Mates.

 

Lucy's stomach clenched as they landed in the grass of the Guild's yard. She wanted to be sick. A small part of her wished she'd listened to Laxus when he first suggested they get rid of the memento. If she had, none of this would've happened. Michelle wouldn't have gotten hurt, the Guild wouldn't have been attacked because of her, again, and she could go on with believing that she was getting stronger beside Laxus and Sonya.

The blonde female heard Laxus take Michelle inside as Sonya continued to comfort her, combing her fingers through her hair and running her hand over the blonde's back.

She heard the door open again and felt calloused hands pick her up out of Sonya's lap. Lucy tried to squirm away from the blonde male she knew was holding her, only for him to grip her tighter as he brought her inside.

"Is Miss Lucy okay?" Lucy almost let a sob out when she heard Lexi's sweet voice. There were children in this Guild! She'd put them in danger! How was Laxus not furious at her for putting his niece in danger, and Sonya with Erika and Kinana?! Aside from that, it had to be late. Lexi should be in bed, sleeping peacefully. But instead, the child was worrying about her!

Lucy felt Laxus sit her in a chair and Sonya's hands place themselves on her shoulders. For the first time since her Mates had found her she looked up, expecting to see anger on everyone's faces. She certainly wouldn't blame them. It was her fault this had happened.

"Oh Lucy!" Cana ran over and threw her arms around the blonde with a wide smile. "Thank goodness you're okay!" she cheered as she pulled back. Lucy's eyes widened slightly in surprise at Cana's smile. She looked around. Macao and Wakaba were talking in the corner with Laki, Max and Kinana were wrapping minor injuries as Wendy healed more major ones. Lexi was seated at the same table as Lucy with Laxus checking over his uninjured niece, relief shining in his eyes. Jet and Droy were worrying over every tiny scratch Levy had sustained. Everyone else was standing around a table where they were preparing to talk with Makarov when he arrived.

"Hey Cana," Lucy managed before the brunette pulled her close with a warm smile. "How bad is everything?"

"Not as bad as it could've been. Just some fatigue and scratches and bruises at worst. Gildarts, Master, Natsu and Grey are still out there somewhere and Gajeel's MIA since this afternoon so pretty much, everyone's accounted for," the Card Wizard reported.

It took a few moments for Grey and Natsu to roll themselves into the Guild Hall, still brawling. Happy sighed as he shut the door behind them.

"Anything?" Pantherlily asked as the blue Exceed neared the others at the bar.

"Sugar Boy got away from us when Grey and Natsu started fighting. They fought the whole way back to the Guild."

"Are you kidding me?" the warrior Exceed deadpanned as Rai shook his head. The door opened again and Makarov and Gildarts walked into the Hall. The Crush Wizard hurried to his daughter and hugged her.

"Oh Cana, sweetie! I'm so glad you're okay after everything!" he cried, ecstatic. Laxus rolled his eyes at the show of affection as Makarov came over to Lucy and placed a hand on her knee.

"Are you alright, my child?" he asked gently.

"Yes Master. I'm sorry this happened," she said softly.

"What are you talking about Lucy?" Sonya asked. Lucy bit her lip and looked down at her lap.

"It's like Phantom Lord all over again. My dad did something to send these people after me, and you all got caught up in the crossfire. I'm sorry I keep bringing trouble to the Guild." Sonya and Laxus locked eyes and the male felt a weight settle in his chest.

"Nothing you need to apologize for my dear," Makarov assured, patting the blonde's knee. "You had no control over the situation just as you have no control over the choices of others. The only thing we can do now is learn from this fight, and prepare for the next step, whatever it may be."

"The man I fought, Vyro, was the leader of this group," Gildarts reported, stepping away from Cana. "Apparently, the group is called the Legion Platoon."

"Are you serious?!" Wakaba cried. "The Legion Platoon?"

"As in the security of the Zentopian church?" Cana asked.

"Sounded to me like they're more like enforcers of the church's rules," the Crush Wizard explained.

"But why would the largest organized church in Fiore do something like that?" Macao asked.

"Not the slightest. But this Vyro man mentioned something about a Holy War," Gildarts explained, scratching at his stubble. Natsu slammed a fist onto a table, just missing Grey's hand as the two fought.

"All that matters is they stole from Lucy! I swear we'll get what they took back!" he declared as he pulled on Grey's hair.

"You don't even know what they took!" Grey objected. "So how the heck can you expect to get it back?!"

"I'm so sorry," Michelle said as she walked up, catching the attention of those assembled. "I wish I could've done something to help you Lucy."

"Don't start beating yourself up Michelle," Lucy said as her fists clenched in her lap. "It's all on me because I'm just too weak." Laxus let out a low growl as the memory of his own words echoed in his head, when he'd openly mocked Lucy in front of the entire Guild. Erza and Mira had been furious and Natsu had tried fighting him. Looking back now, he couldn't understand how Lucy could honestly forgive him for saying those things about her, even if he hadn't been in his right mind.

"Hey," Sonya spoke up before nuzzling her nose against the top of Lucy's head gently. "Don't think on it, you hear me?" Bright blue eyes looked right at Laxus as she spoke and the blonde male knew she was talking to both her blonde Mates.

"Is there anything about this memento aside from the fact it came from Jude Heartfilia that would cause it to be of significance?" Makarov asked.

"There were runes on it," Laxus said. "According to Levy, they say 'Time ticks forward, on towards inevitable chaos'. Lucy recognized the phrase from a book Life of the Clockwork, and it had the same phrase word for word. In the book, there was an illustration of the memento that made it out to be some sort of clock hand." Sonya bit her lip and placed a hand on her warming Keys.

"Hm. A series of church attacks just before the Zentopia Founding Festival, a mysterious clock hand with an ominous phrase that is also sought by the Legion Platoon and now there's talk of a Holy War," Makarov mused.

"Well I'll say this much," Sonya said, crossing her arms over her chest. "These guys made a big mistake choosing to make war on me and my Pack. This is just getting started, I can assure you."

"Was anyone able to follow them and figure out where they were going?" Grey asked as he narrowly avoided getting punched in the head by Natsu.

"According to Warren, every search party lost sight of them," Kinana reported. "But I think we need to also make sense of what we're facing if we're going to fight them again, Sonya. Like why do they need this clock hand? And does it play a part in this Holy War to come?"

"I say we figure out where they went and then ask them ourselves," Grey said as he swung a punch at Natsu.

"Will you two cut it out for ten seconds!?" Laxus barked. Erza marched up to the two and grabbed them by the head.

"Enough of this fighting! Play nice!" she declared before smashing their heads together. Lexi let out a squeak and grabbed onto her uncle's leg in fright.

"I think what they're after may be the clock from the book," Lucy said gently. "I mean, it's real and it's gotta be out there somewhere. But finding out what its significance is sounds like another problem to tackle all together."

"Do you think this Holy War and the inevitable chaos the runes talked about are one and the same?" Cana asked.

"I don't know," Lucy mused. "Chaos basically means no more rules but the world needs rules in order to work the way it needs to."

"Mommy says that rules are made to protect us and without them we'd all be sad and getting hurt and nothing would really be fair," Lexi said with a raised hand.

"That's exactly right Lexi," Makarov said.

"Maybe they think that if they win this upcoming war, they can change the rules?" Macao suggested.

"The idea of those jerks making the rules rubs me the wrong way," Wakaba said.

"They definitely have a warped sense of justice and stealing from Lucy doesn't strike me as holy at all," Gildarts said, turning towards the blonde.

"What we need are more pieces of this puzzle!" Lexi declared.

"Pieces…" Michelle mused. "Wait a second! I just had a thought! If they wanted the hand, maybe there's other pieces of this clock that they want as well!"

"That's a good point Michelle," Lucy said. "But even if there are other pieces, I wouldn't know where to start looking."

"I'll see what my fortune-telling brings up," Cana said. "It's bound to give us a few ideas."

"That's right, just leave it to my big baby girl!" Gildarts cheered, wrapping his arms around his daughter.

"You're embarrassing me!" Cana objected, causing her father to pout. Laxus rolled his eyes as he picked up his niece again.

"Well, if you can get that to us in the morning, Cana, that would be great. In the meantime, I'm gonna get this little one to bed." Lexi covered a yawn and snuggled into her uncle's shoulder.

"Alright then, good night," Sonya said as they left the Guild Hall with Rai landing on Laxus' shoulders. The Dragon Slayer turned them to lightning and teleported home. Rai immediately went to the master bedroom and curled up at the foot as Laxus put Lexi to bed before going to sleep himself.

 

Laxus' stomach became slightly uneasy as he looked around. On his right sat Lucy, holding something folded made of fur on her lap. Beyond Lucy was an older woman, probably in her later thirties or early forties with long blonde hair with a streak of silver braided down her back similarly to how Sonya kept her own hair. On his right was a young man with shock-white hair, dark tan skin and dressed in a pair of silver fish-scale pants with a black cloth tied around each shoulder, linking together on his back. On his head was a white band with black accents and black fins in his hair and around his neck was a thin cord holding half a white oyster shell. Beyond him woman with long black hair, dressed in armor that appeared to be made of shimmering fish scales that exposed her belly. There was a band on her forehead as well that was black with white accents.

Ahead of the group, a bonfire was burning, revealing the silhouette of a small lump on the ground. Someone started hitting drums and a flute began to whistle and the lump began shifting. Slowly, a human form uncurled from the fetal position and stretched out their arms. By the thin figure, accented with curves near the chest and waist, and long, braided hair flowing behind them, they were female.

The figure started dancing, keeping the left foot and leg perfectly rooted to the ground while the right one began moving, kicking and propelling the girl around as her arms began moving, her right one in a nearly sporadic manner while the left one moved with grace and practiced ease. The head remained lowered through the movements. It took a couple of seconds for Laxus to realize the girl's right hand was mirroring the movements of the bonfire behind her.

Slowly, the darkness of the figure faded, revealing caramel-colored hair. Laxus blinked as Sonya smiled at him, but kept her head lowered. She was dressed in a deerskin tunic and pants and there were odd markings on her left arm.

Eventually, the blonde woman at the end of the line stood up and walked over. Sonya froze in her movements and closed her eyes as the woman neared. The woman smiled as the dark-haired woman and white-haired male beside Laxus also arose and walked over. The blonde woman placed a hand under Sonya's chin and raised it so she was looking to the skies before placing a necklace of claws on the caramel-haired girl's neck. The necklace looked very similar to the one Laxus had given her just the other day.

The dark-haired woman took hold of Sonya's braid and placed a few eagle's feathers in her braid before the young man tied a fox's tail onto the end of her braid.

Then Lucy stood up and walked over as the other three returned to their seats. The blonde Celestial Wizard unfolded what had been in her lap, revealing a buffalo robe that she draped over Sonya's shoulders. Sonya smiled at her before they each placed their hands on each others' shoulders and touched foreheads.

Then Lucy backed away and Laxus stood up. He couldn't stop himself from walking over, his heart thumping against his chest like a hammer and he could hear the blood rushing through his head, nearly drowning out the crackling fire and music. He raised a hand and saw that he was holding a wolf's head in his hand. The gray-tan fur had a few tiny braids in it, with beads tied in. The jaw was open and there was a flap where the neck was.

Laxus watched as he took the head and placed it on top of Sonya's. The open jaw allowed him to see Sonya's face. She looked up at him, tears running down her cheeks as she smiled brightly. They placed their hands on each others' shoulders and touched foreheads. Laxus could feel the warmth of the girl he held and hear her sniffles as she attempted to stop her tears. He couldn't help a chuckle.

He stepped away and the music resumed. This time, Sonya all but flung herself into the movements, smiling brightly as tears streamed down her face. Eventually, the music and dancer slowly came to a stop and Sonya stood tall and proud.

She walked towards them a few steps and then paused as if realizing something was off. She reached into the buffalo robe Lucy had given her and pulled out what looked to be a doll made of dirty straw. Suddenly, she turned around and Laxus followed her gaze as he stood.

The bonfire now stretched to the heavens and the crackling had turned into the harsh, unforgiving sound of whips on flesh and howls of rabid beasts. Laxus pushed Lucy back, the dark-skinned male and dark-haired woman beside him vanishing entirely as the blonde Celestial Wizard took a few steps back before falling onto the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Sonya began running towards them as the older blonde woman rushed forward. She yanked up her sleeve, revealing odd markings in similar color to Sonya's, but more intricate and a large scar on her wrist that looked like teeth marks.

The woman stood before the fire and brought her arm to her mouth before biting on the scar, causing blood to spew slightly on the ground before her. A bolt of lightning shot down from the darkening skies and Sonya grabbed Laxus' arm. He pushed her towards where he'd pushed Lucy and turned back in time to see that in the woman's place was a magnificent, golden dragon. She had a long neck and a somewhat wide body. From the base of her skull were two long lines of fur that trailed down her neck, over her back, and came together at the tip of her tail. Her wings also had fur along the edges of the membrane. Tiny veins webbed through the thin material looking very reminiscent of lightning bolts. The earth under her curved claws crumbled and fell apart like sand as she shifted slightly, as if stretching or preparing to pounce.

The dragon turned her head and snarled at him, revealing a somewhat long snout, sharp teeth and a lining of fur on her jaw, similar to a beard. There were tiny fins on the edge of her cheekbones that fanned out over the seam of her neck and head. Above them on each side was a long, pale-blonde hair that stood on end as though by static electricity.

Laxus heard a cry behind him and turned around. Sonya had tripped on something and was now flopped on the ground, her headdress and the doll in her hand flying away from the momentum. She looked over her shoulder in terror before trying to crawl away. Laxus raced forward and reached out to grab the girl's hand as he neared.

The Lightning Dragon Slayer shot up in bed, gasping for air as his stomach lurched harshly. Immediately, he felt the tingling of his Magic and found himself kneeling before the toilet, just in time to exorcise the demons of Hell as offerings to the porcelain god. The images from his dream flashed before his eyes as bile and the remnants of his dinner were forced from his body.

Once his vomiting came to a stop, Laxus took a moment to calm down before flushing the toilet and rinsing the horrible taste from his mouth. He took another moment to breathe as he hovered over the sink before looking up at the mirror. Dark bags were evident under his eyes, making them look darker, and the paler color of his skin didn't help either.

The one part he found most surprising was that there were tear tracks on his cheeks. The last time he'd cried, even a little bit, had been the first time he'd held his infant niece and she'd actually calmed down from a spell of crying her mother couldn't calm. Before that, at the Fantasia Parade and the time before that had been when he'd had the lacrima shoved into his head.

The fact that a dream had reduced him to crying in his sleep and vomiting upon awakening made his stomach churn in warning and the Inner Dragon in his head rattle within its cage.

There was definitely something wrong with his Mates, some danger he didn't know about that was coming for them. This Holy War Gildarts had mentioned or something related to it.

Maybe that dark-haired woman and pale-haired boy he'd seen were the threat. But he'd sat beside them without a care in the world in his dream and they didn't seem threatening to him. But maybe…there'd also been that blonde, older woman who'd turned into a Dragon. Maybe she had something to do with this growing threat.

His Inner Dragon snarled and Laxus felt a spike of pain shoot through his right temple. He covered the eye with his hand, feeling the scarred flesh under his fingertips as the pain soothed slightly.

Laxus splashed water on his face for a second before drying off and heading back to bed. He'd probably need to keep a very close eye on Sonya and Lucy from that night on, just to be safe. Maybe even talk to Sonya about his dream as she'd mentioned her own dreams being omens and prophetic in nature. At least with her, Laxus knew for absolutely certain he'd be taken seriously. The fact this dream had appeared the same night the Guild had been attacked in order to steal the clock hand couldn't just be a coincidence.

 

Sonya rubbed at her eyes as Laxus entered the Hall, Lexi half-asleep on his shoulder.

"Morning," the caramel-haired Wizard yawned.

"Morning," Laxus said as he set his niece down at the table. Rai landed in front of her and curled up before the girl gently set her head on him and dozed off again. Rai merely licked at her forehead lovingly before also laying down to nap. "How'd ya sleep last night?"

"Okay. Had a bad dream though."

"Bad dream?" he asked as he sat down. Sonya smiled but nodded slightly. "May I ask what about?"

"Um…Hold on a second," she said before she headed upstairs. She came back down a few moments later, carrying a tiny journal. "I always write down all my dreams so that I remember them," she explained as she set the tiny book in front of him. Laxus looked over the page and his eyes widened as he read over what he'd seen the night before but from Sonya's perspective. A few things were different though, like how she hadn't seen the woman transform into a Dragon, had heard people yelling and her writings mentioned some sort of 'door' being the last thing she heard.

"Wow," he said. "That's very interesting."

"Yea. This one was particularly creepy. I almost threw up. But I've still got a headache."

"Now this is getting creepy for me," he said, earning a questioning look from his Mate. "Because I had the exact same dream from my perspective last night." Sonya's eyes widened as she glanced at her bare left arm. "Got any idea as to what it means?"

"Not really. At least, nothing I like. My finding that familiar doll in a robe Lucy gave me would indicate something from my past has something to do with Lucy and she's going to remind me of it. The end results won't be pretty." Laxus clenched his fist for a second before reaching over and placing a hand on Sonya's. She smiled at him and gave the appendage a gentle squeeze.

"What about that first part? That dance you were performing? And those…tattoos were they?" Sonya's left arm tensed for a second and she looked down at the table, very much looking like a young child prepared for a great scolding and punishment.

"That should not have happened."

"Why not?" Sonya met Laxus' gaze and immediately, the blonde wished he had never asked. Sonya's eyes had darkened as water lined the rims.

"I'm not trained. That dance was the Dance of the Four Elements; Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Dragon Shamans perform them as a test. Students learn from their teachers and the teacher will then say whether or not the student is ready to be declared a shaman in their own right, by lifting their chin. Those tattoos on my arm…they were my signature…so to speak. To Dragon Slayers who can read the markings, they tell my life story, from my birth up until that moment. The portion I could see mentioned I had siblings and Mates. I didn't see my siblings' names though. Shamans put those on. They tell what my spirit animals are, who my family is, battles I've won, how I became an adult, so on and so forth. Usually, I'll wear temporary tattoos during the Grand Magic Games, as that's what Dragon Slayers did when they went into battle, either for play or for real. But even my doing that is highly presumptuous. Draco taught me to read the symbols, not put them on myself. He was not a Shaman and could not teach me how to be one, even if I was one."

"Really?' Laxus breathed. Sonya nodded.

"Shamans aide their people through their lives. To be Mated to a Shaman was always a great honor. But there's no more Dragon Slayer Shamans. And without them our culture is doomed."

"What do you mean?" Laxus asked as he moved a little closer.

"I tell you and Lucy what I do of Dragon Slayer culture because you're my Mates, you're expected to know. But the way Shamans aide and guide their people are unique and without any…we're kinda like a flock without a shepherd. Evil spirits, demons, our own shortcomings, they'll eventually catch up with us. Never mind the loss of traditions and certain ceremonies," Sonya sighed as she closed her journal. Laxus rested his elbow on his knee and ran his hand over his face. To think of an entire culture dying out around him was unsettling to say the least. But the fact he could well be one of the last to practice it was bone-chilling.

"Isn't there anything? Like…books or classes you could take?" he asked after a moment.

"There are, on pure shamanism. But Dragon Slayer Shamans are different, just as Dragon Slayers differ from regular Wizards." Laxus nodded.

"On another note. Have you ever heard of people turning into Dragons?"

"Only once. Why?"

"In my dream last night. When you ran away from the fire, there was this older blonde woman who ran forward, bit herself and turned into a golden Dragon." Sonya's eyes widened.

"She bit herself?"

"Yea, right here," Laxus said tracing the place on his own arm where he'd seen the scar on the woman's. "She had markings a lot like the one you had while dancing." Sonya's jaw dropped. "What?"

"You have no literal idea, do you?"

"Of what?" Sonya shot to her feet.

"You just met your Lacrima-Mother!" she screamed, flapping her arms frantically. "You say she was the same woman who put the grizzly claws on my neck?!"

"Yes."

"Laxus! Do you have any idea who that woman is?!" Sonya practically screeched.

"No I don't!"

"Zeupitoya! The daughter of Indraoya, daughter of Zeulnil, son of Thoriela, the Lightning Dragon Queen and the Daughter of Draco! Your Lacrima-Mother is a freaking Blood!"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Draco created the Royals of each element by infusing his scales with their creation. As a result, they shared his ability to pass from human to Dragon form. By the time the ability reached Zeupitoya's generation, they were reduced to biting themselves to transform!" Laxus' eyes widened slightly.

"Wow. That definitely explains the scar." Sonya sat back down with a sigh and chuckled.

"Yeesh. I'm kinda surprised but then again, not really."

"Why?"

"Zeupitoya was one of the most famous Dragons during the Dragon Civil War. She helped Draco perfect Dragon Slayer Magic and taught it to humans with him, and even raised Robert Marevelli. Some say she was the most brilliant shamans Dragon and Slayer culture had ever seen."

"So wait, my brother…through my Lacrima-Mother, was the founder of the Rune Knights." Sonya let out another chuckle.

"Yes he was. Imagine Lahar's face if he realized that according to Dragon Slayer culture, command of the Rune Knights would likely fall to you now." Laxus couldn't help laughing at that idea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: Wow! It's done! Chapter 27 is done! Holy cow this one was a doozy! But I loved writing it! I hope you all enjoyed reading it because next chapter we get to see the Heartfilia Mansion! YAY! So excited to see Laxus' reaction to where Lucy grew up! LOL! 
> 
> Please leave a comment, bookmark or kudos if you liked anything or have constructive criticism!


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose discovers more about the church fires and the Pack heads off to the Heartfilia Mansion.

"0100 hours and no change. Nothing unusual to report at the other three parishes!" Rose rolled her eyes as the report was rattled off. Lahar had her and himself stationed nearby the entrance of a church, with the Thunder Legion off at another site and another unit of Knights at a third potential target.

Rose could almost feel Lahar's eyes on her back as she stood nearby. He was at his stupid game again. However, now Rose was having a little fun. Lahar couldn't stop fidgeting. Be it moving his glasses, fixing his cloak and robes, brushing at some invisible speck of dust, pulling off an unseen hair or even shifting from foot to foot needlessly, Lahar was nonstop movement one way or another. He was starting to lose his own game.

Finally, Lahar cleared his throat.

"Rose. Might I discuss something with you?" he asked. Rose glared at him but said nothing. He cleared his throat again. "Well. You see…I understand that you've joined the Fairy Tail Guild, probably as a sign of loyalty to your brother and grandfather, which is commendable on your part-"

"Lahar, stop trying to kiss my ass and just spit out your damn point," she said in a flat tone, looking back at the church.

"I think you and I both know your place isn't with them," Lahar said quickly. Rose let out a bark of a laugh.

"Keep telling yourself that, Chief Marshal," she said with a chuckle. "My place is with my family and that's right in Fairy Tail."

"Rose, you're a black-and-white kind of person. Things either are or they are not. You do not like the grey areas of life. Fairy Tail is nothing but grey," Lahar pushed.

"Oh yes, yes. But if you're trying to convince me that my place is in the Knights, forget it. You lot are way more grey than Fairy Tail. I mean, let's take you for example. You took my daughter's DNA and tested it against prisoners without my consent to see if any of them were her father," Rose snapped, glaring at the Chief Marshal.

"I did what I did because I felt it was the right thing to do. Imagine being in my shoes, being in love with someone and caring deeply for their child. The reason I did it was so that I could protect her and you against those who might seek to use Alexis for their own gains! If her father was among those I tested, it was because he's done many things that I believe would make her a target!"

"And being the granddaughter of the Master of Raven Tail isn't enough?!" Rose snapped, her eyes flashing. "And before you try anything about how her father could've had genetic issues he passed on to her, I already had that checked. The only problems she has are who her maternal grandparents are, slight dyslexia that's she's excelling at overcoming, and who her mother chose to date!" Lahar's jaw tightened.

"I did what I did because I care for you and Alexis, and I still do even now." The Chief Marshal placed a hand on the tree near Rose's shoulder, earning the appendage a glare from the stormy-eyed woman.

"You did what you want because you wanted to, not for any other reason aside from your own desire to control me. So don't go acting all high, mighty and noble. If you were really just looking out for mine and Lexi's best interests, you would've run it by me first. And you know what, maybe, just maybe, I would've told you who Lexi's father is. But you went behind my back about my own daughter, the most precious thing in my entire life. With that in mind, how could I ever trust you with anything else?" Lahar placed his hand on Rose's shoulder, only to have the offending body part slapped away as Rose stepped away. "Lay another hand on me, and I swear I'll tear it off!" she screamed, the tips of her ears turning pink in rage.

"Rose, please-"

"Sir?" Both Lahar and Rose turned towards the knight standing nearby.

"Yes, what is it?"

"0115 hours and nothing unusual reported at any of the parishes," he said with a salute.

"Good work," Lahar sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"Is anyone inside?" Rose asked.

"At this hour, ma'am, the priest assures us it should be empty," the Knight reported proudly. Rose's eyes narrowed.

"Should be?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Did you check?" the scarlet-tipped blonde snapped.

"No ma'am," the Knight said, a cold chill running down his spine. Rose glared.

"So you're saying that you're not certain if our arsonist is hiding inside the church we're supposed to be guarding, and none of you thought to go inside and actually check?!" The Knight was silent as he took a cautious step back. "You know what?! You stay here. You guys have hereby proven the extent of your competence so I'll go check!" With that, Rose snapped around and marched down the hill towards the church.

"Rose, wait!" Lahar called as he followed after her. A scream cut through the air from the church. The scarlet-tipped blonde raced forward as Lahar yelled for his men to charge.

Rose could only watch as her feet continued towards the church as the building cracked like a glass dropped on the floor, flames licking through them as the glass windows shattered, the moon giving the shards the appearance of snow for the briefest of instants. Smoke poured out of the gaping holes and the structure crumbled in on itself with a groan. But still Rose raced towards it.

Someone inside the church had screamed, meaning that building probably had someone trapped in there. All she could do was pray that she made it there in time to get them out. With a snap of her fingers, she summoned Kit to her side.

"Someone's inside that collapsed building! I need you to search for them and get them out!"

"Understood!" Kit said with a nod as he rushed towards the rubble, his foxfire surrounding him. Rose stopped running and took a deep breath before looking around. Knights were scrambling everywhere, some screaming for water, some throwing snow onto the flames. A flash of movement caught Rose's eye and she immediately took off after it. It only took a few moments for her eyes to distinguish between shadows and the dark fabric making up a cloak.

Rose forced her legs to move just a little faster, making the muscles burn somewhat as she just managed to catch up with the figure and tackle them. She yanked the hood off, revealing long black hair with a white underside, bright ruby-colored eyes and darkly painted lips.

"No way…Macbeth?" Rose panted as she backed away slightly from the man. He regarded her with a cool gaze.

"I see you're still around," he said simply, no panting or huffing for air. Rose blinked.

"Macbeth, a few nights ago, I ran into Erik and Sorano. And they were saying some pretty out-there things," she said.

"I'm aware. They informed us when they returned."

"Us? Wait you mean Richard and Sawyer too?" A sudden rush of wind was all the warning Rose got before something smacked into her with enough force to send her flying back to hit a tree. She crumpled at the base, gasping for air as she pushed herself up. Before Macbeth stood a lean young man dressed in a black body suit with red lines, blonde hair sticking up from his large goggles intended to keep his eyes safe at high speeds, and a long nose. "Saw…yer?" Rose wheezed as she gripped her side.

"Too slow. Way too slow," the male said as his comrade stood.

"As you can probably see, he is no longer the child you knew growing up. Nor am I. I've cast away the name of Macbeth and of Midnight. You may call me Brain II," the dark-haired Wizard sneered. Rose steadied herself against the tree and growled.

"What did you do to him?! And not just him, but Richard and Erik and Sorano?! Or was it Bartholomew who did something, like how he shot Erik in the back?"

"Amazing that Cobra would disclose his greatest dishonor to you. But then again, not entirely unsurprising, given his baser instincts demanding he submit before his Alpha." Rose's eyes widened.

"What are you talking about?! You mean Erik's a Dragon Slayer?!"

"Indeed he is. A Poison Dragon Slayer to be more precise, created by the embedding of a lacrima that your father was kind enough to give," Midnight declared with a smirk.

"Is Ivan putting you up to this? Is he pulling the strings? As some sort of payment?!" the Fairy Tail Wizard demanded.

"Far from it. Every one of us, even your precious Angel and Cobra, are doing this of our own free wills, even Racer, despite how he may appear. And your father is far from the puppet master, more that he is the puppet."

"Stop joking around! I know you guys! You would never do this! And I know Ivan! He'd never let himself be used like a puppet!"

"You would think so, wouldn't you?" Midnight asked. "Here's a challenge. The next time you get the chance, look us up by our names; Cobra, Angel and Midnight. Read all you can and then tell me if you'll be able to stomach the thought of looking at your precious Erik again."

"What are you talking about?" Rose demanded with a snarl.

"I think we've wasted enough time speaking to this gutter trash. Racer, let us depart."

"Faster. Even faster," Racer muttered under his breath before he and Midnight vanished from sight. Rose grit her teeth and slammed her fist into the tree trunk in frustration. She had to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.

"Rose!" The scarlet-tipped blonde turned to see Lahar running towards her with a collection of Knights.

"Did you find anything?" he asked.

"Yes. I managed to catch up with a suspect fleeing the scene."

"Who?"

"Black hair, white on the underside, ruby eyes, male, wore makeup," she explained.

"That's not possible," Lahar said. Rose crooked an eyebrow.

"I know what I saw. And there were no illusions being cast. By the suspect I caught up with or his accomplice."

"Accomplice?" Lahar asked.

"I didn't get the best look at him, mostly because he moved too quickly for me to see."

"Impossible, the only Wizard to possess such speed is…" Lahar faltered and looked away. Rose scowled.

"Who has that ability Lahar?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. The man remained silent and Rose wanted to scream in frustration. "If you will not tell me, intentionally impeding my work here, then we're done! I'll take my pay and the Thunder Legion and march back home!" she snapped.

"Your task is not yet done," Lahar said.

"I will not tolerate being kept here like some form of hostage! Nor will my team or my Guild! One word from me, and my brother will hear of all that you've done to keep me from my daughter and he'll bring his Guild knocking on the Council's doors and I doubt they'll be very patient about getting me and my team back!"

"You wouldn't dare!" Lahar fired back.

"You wanna try me?" Rose snarled, glaring at the Chief Marshall. The man clenched his teeth as his men looked at each other, nervously.

"Dismissed," Lahar hissed to his guards.

"Sir?" The Chief Marshall glowered at his men and they immediately ran off, leaving Lahar and Rose alone.

"The men you describe fit the description of two members of the Oracion Seis, a former Dark Guild and member of the Baram Alliance that, according to rumor, ruled all the other Dark Guilds save for Raven Tail. The members you speak of are known as Midnight and Racer. The other members include a man by the name of Cobra, a woman by the name of Angel, a man by the name of Hoteye, although he now goes by Richard, and a man named Brain. Currently, all members of the Oracion Seis are locked up in the Council's maximum security prison with no chance of escape. Therefore, there is no chance that the men you describe were here tonight," Lahar said through clenched teeth.

"How long have they been there?" Rose asked.

"Seven years now." Rose licked at her lips and locked eyes with Lahar.

"Were they among those who you tested Lexi's DNA against?"

"Yes. In fact, it was the one called Cobra who made me think of it in the first place. He and Lexi share many qualities that you and she did not," Lahar admitted. Rose's hand flew and her palm struck Lahar's face with enough force to make the man stumble to the side, his glasses askew and his lip bleeding.

"So, one man who happened to look like my daughter was enough for you to betray my trust like that?! Did it ever occur to you to just ask me?! Or did you just decide that going behind my back was the only way to get what you wanted?!"

"Rose-"

"No! I don't want to hear it! I found a suspect! If you require more information, you know what to do. I'm going to regroup with the Thunder Legion!" With that, Rose stormed off.

Once she was beyond Lahar's sight, she leaned against a tree and ran a hand through her hair.

"Cobra. My Erik…is called Cobra. And is a Poison Dragon Slayer. Which…which would mean he has a Pack." Her eyes widened. "We have a Pack. And I'm the Alpha."

"Mi'lady!" Rose straightened up as Kit landed in the snow in front of her.

"Did you find the person?" she asked quickly.

"Yes mi'lady. However…" Kit waved his hand and a few small balls of his foxfire lowered the stiff body down so Rose could investigate. The figure was male, but the body didn't resemble flesh and cloth, rather it looked as though it had been carved from some yellow stone. In the man's hand was a Silver Key. Rose gently pulled it free and looked it over.

"This is the Key of the Shield. Meaning this person was a Celestial Wizard."

"What shall I do with the body mi'lady?"

"Get it to Lahar. Tell him I'll take a few days to look into this person and why Midnight may have been after him. Tell him nothing of this Key," Rose stated simply as she slipped the Silver Key into her pocket.

 

Lucy looked herself over in the mirror again. She'd donned a plain white shirt, a dark grey fleece jacket, a pair of jeans, and brown boots as well as her Keys. Around her neck hung the necklace of grizzly teeth Laxus had given her. Her hair had been pulled into twin pigtail braids that hung almost to her mid-back. She tugged on the tips slightly and chewed her lip.

After seeing how much hair Sonya had and all the ways she made it look so elegant and beautiful in braids, the blonde found herself wanting to grow out her own hair to try braiding for herself. Cancer had outright refused to make her hair that long instantly, stating her neck wouldn't be able to handle the sudden weight change that much hair would cause. Slowly, the Spirit added a few centimeters at a time and told Lucy the best types of food to eat to help her hair grow and keep it healthy, as well as supplying a shampoo and conditioner to further assist in the process.

But seeing it now almost made the blonde want to laugh. Her hair was all but unweaving itself from the braids more and more by the second. How Sonya managed to make it look so easy was beyond her.

Lucy grabbed a simple hair tie and slipped it onto her wrist for later use if needed before heading out the door. It felt weird not having her whip's weight on her hip but the blonde sighed slightly before she stood up straight.

She needed to make last night up to the Guild. And that started with getting to the bottom of all their questions, no matter what it took.

The blonde stepped out of her building and took a deep breath of the fresh morning air before Michelle came out of the building and wrapped her arms around one of Lucy's. The golden blonde was glad that Michelle was no longer hurt and that her pretty pink dress had somehow managed to be salvageable despite all the blood. The two walked in companionable silence as they neared the Guild.

"Good morning!" Lucy cheered as she opened the door. Sonya and Laxus turned to face her and the caramel-haired Wizard smiled at the two blonde females.

"Morning Miss Lucy, Miss Michelle!" Lexi cheered.

"Good morning," Michelle responded before she headed over to the bar with Kinana. Lucy headed towards the table, only to freeze when a pair of arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind. Based on the warmth of the body she was pulled against, she could only guess it was Natsu.

Immediately, Lucy saw Laxus and Sonya stand up from their seats and the blonde placed her hands on Natsu's arms in an attempt to pull one off, but to no avail.

"Natsu, what do you think you're doing?" Lucy hissed as Natsu began pulling her towards the doors.

"Simple, I'm gonna keep you safe Lucy. Laxus and Sonya proved last night that they can't and I just figured out how to break the spell they've got you under!"

"You got something to say Dragneel?" Sonya growled.

"Not to you two," Natsu shot back before spinning Lucy around and pressing his lips to hers. Mirajane squealed and Michelle covered her mouth in shock. Lexi's eyes widened as her jaw dropped. Lucy's eyes widened as she felt the bruising force on her lips. Something hot and slick passed over her lips, trying to force its way into her mouth. The blonde pushed against Natsu's shoulders, trying to get him away, only to have him grip her waist tighter.

Suddenly, there was a hand on her arm and she felt Natsu be ripped away from her. Her vision blurred and became a field of purple as she felt her cheek be pressed against a firm chest and heard the ba-thump of a heartbeat in her ear.

Lucy blinked and turned her head to see Natsu fly out into the lawn, Laxus' fist still hovering in midair where he'd landed a punch on Natsu, lightning still flickering on his knuckles. The blonde female looked up to see her Mate snarling as he glared at the Fire Dragon Slayer who'd dared try forcing a kiss on his Mate.

Natsu threw his head back and laughed.

"Too late Laxus! See! I already kissed her! And since I'm her Mate, that breaks the spell you and Sonya cast on her!" the pink-haired boy declared. Lucy pressed a hand to her lips as tears began welling in her eyes.

"Great job Natsu!" Mirajane cheered from the bar. Lucy watched as Sonya clenched her teeth before she marched over to the bar and slapped Mira across the cheek so hard the white-haired woman was sent sprawling on the floor.

"Sorry, that was out of principle!" Sonya growled. "Keep encouraging him like that, and I'll drop-kick you into the lake."

Lucy felt Laxus' warmth leave her as he marched toward the younger Dragon Slayer, his teeth still clenched and lightning shooting off his fingers. Lucy took a few steps back before she tripped on the threshold of the Guild and landed harshly on her rear, causing her to bite her tongue. The held-in tears began slipping down her cheeks as Laxus landed another punch on the still-laughing boy.

"Uncle Laxus!" Lexi cried as the child hurried to Lucy and wrapped the blonde in her seven-year-old arms. Sonya hurried over and did the same, pressing gentle kisses to Lucy's crown. Laxus looked back and growled at the sight of Lucy crying. He grabbed Natsu by the vest and dragged him inside, quickly shoving him into a corner and writing up some runes to keep him there.

"Gramps will deal with you when he gets here," the blonde male growled out through clenched teeth.

Sonya helped Lucy to her feet and gently guided her to the table again, this time having the blonde sit in the lap of the caramel-haired Celestial Wizard. Kinana hurried around the kitchen to make some tea as Michelle rushed over to Lucy.

"Are you okay?" Sonya asked. Lucy hiccupped but didn't answer, causing the caramel-haired girl to gently stroke her fingers through the blonde tresses. "I'm sorry that happened Lucy."

"It's not your fault," Lucy chocked out, nuzzling into Sonya's shoulder, enjoying the warmth and comfort the smaller girl provided.

"It won't be happening again," Laxus growled as he neared the table, earning him a sharp glare from Sonya. The girl covered Lucy's ears and turned towards the Alpha.

"Watch it, she's not the one you're mad at," she hissed before returning to comforting the blonde female.

"What's with all the doom and gloom atmosphere in here?" Cana called as she entered the Guild Hall.

"Natsu kissed Lucy," Mira cheered. Laxus growled and sent a tiny lightning bolt at the Wizard, making her jump with a small cry. Sonya glared at the woman but held on to Lucy, rubbing gentle circles into her arms.

"Well…Judging by how Laxus reacted just now, that's the main cause of all this bad mojo I'm feeling around here," the Card Wizard sighed. "Now then. According to my cards last night, the best place to look for information is home." Lucy's eyes widened slightly.

"Home?" she asked.

"Like an old home," Cana clarified. "Maybe your family's mansion?"

"Uh, okay. In that case I'll go check it out," the blonde Celestial Wizard said as she stood up.

"I'll go too," Michelle said, raising a hand. "I spent time with Mr. Jude before he passed so if he hid anything, he might've mentioned something that I'll remember upon seeing it."

"I'm going too," Laxus stated before looking at Sonya and Lexi. "If there's any trouble, I want to be able to protect Lucy."

"Then I'll go as well," Sonya said as she stood up. "Kinana, would you be okay taking care of the kids?"

"Absolutely," the purple-haired barmaid said as she hugged Lexi.

"Thank you Kinana," Laxus said. "How far away is the Heartfilia estate?"

"About half a day by train," Lucy said.

"Then let's get moving," Sonya stated. "The sooner we look into this, the sooner we figure this puzzle out."

"Hold your horses you three," Makarov said as he appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

"Oh Master, you were upstairs?" Mira asked, covering the reddening mark on her cheek with a hand.

"What the hell were you doing up there?" Laxus asked. The old man grinned and rubbed the back of his head.

"Would you believe I was doing paperwork?"

"Not on your life, geezer," the blonde male snapped. Makarov shrugged as he hopped up to sit on top of a table.

"Well, I understand the eagerness of you youngsters to want to figure this all out. However, I have a feeling that if they could easily take out the majority of this Guild on their own then you three going on your own may prove to be extremely dangerous." Sonya bit her lip at the Master's words.

"Master, with all due respect, I wasn't even going all out yesterday. Nor was Laxus. If his instincts were working like mine yesterday, they were telling him to not go all out simply because those people don't need to know our full strength right off the bat," the caramel-haired Celestial Wizard said.

"I understand Sonya. But by the time you two realized how far out of your depth you were, you couldn't go all out as you were too low on Magic Power. While you kids may not like it, I'll be sending a few who didn't participate in the battle with you. Namely Erza and Gray."

"No," Laxus said plainly. "In case you haven't noticed, old man, Lucy was being abused by them as her teammates. I'm not going to let them near her to do it all again."

"I understand your frustration Laxus, and believe me I'd send someone else like Gildarts with you, if I had that option. Unfortunately, he and Laki were sent on another mission last night and aren't due back for some time. Add on the fact we no longer have Mystogan, Gajeel is still missing, they've already fought Mira, Rose and the Thunder Legion are still gone, Erza is the only one who can go with you."

"Are you kidding me?" Laxus growled under his breath.

"However, allow me to at least try to keep some semblance of peace. You, Laxus, will be in charge of this excursion. Erza and Gray will be under my orders to adhere to what you say while away from the Guild. I explained to them that they are to follow your orders and protect Lucy and Sonya at all costs."

"Again, with all due respect Master, I can take care of myself," Sonya said quickly, ire slowly rising.

"I know my child. However, it's merely to put this old man's mind at ease," Makarov assured. Sonya looked up at Laxus and sighed.

"If they start doing anything to hurt Lucy or abuse her again, old man, it's on your head," Laxus snapped.

"I understand," Makarov said with a nod.

"And I won't tolerate any of it for any length of time. They're there to protect the girls and if what they do is harming them psychologically, I'll be putting a stop to it immediately."

"Excuse me!" Sonya snapped in a high-pitched voice, making Laxus turn his attention to her. "Can we talk? Outside?" Before Laxus could even form a response, Sonya stormed out the doors and into the yard. Laxus looked at Lucy, who shrugged. The blonde male left the building with a sigh as he checked the link. He could sense Sonya's irritation.

"What's up?" Laxus asked as he turned towards where he could smell Sonya's scent the strongest. He froze in his tracks as he was met with her bright blue blazing glare.

"'Protect the girls'? Seriously?! Did I not just tell your grandfather that I could handle myself?!"

"Yes, you did," Laxus said with a nod. "However, it doesn't change the fact that you are-"

"What? A girl? Or younger than you? Or how I can't show off my strength as easily as you can? Trust me, I've heard all that bullshit from Sting over the past seven years. I can't help my age, gender, or Magic Power. But I've been taking care of myself for the past few years. Me and Kinana, never mind Daphne when she lived with us! And surprise, surprise, big boy, I didn't need a cheer squad at my back to do it!"

"Excuse me?" Laxus snarled. Sonya glared, her blue eyes still alight with fire and her cheeks flushing red.

"You know, normally I wouldn't get so pissed about someone assuming that just because I'm younger, just because I'm a girl or a Celestial Wizard so quickly. But you and I have been going through what's come at us with little to no trouble! Or need I remind you that it wasn't you who managed to incapacitate Jose when we found Hannah?! We've been through the paperwork so you've seen the jobs I've gone on alone. I, personally believe I've more than proved my metal, and yet you just basically ignored what I said to your grandfather about handling myself!"

"Are you done?" Laxus ground out, his arms slowly crossing over his chest.

"Depends on your next choice of words," Sonya snapped.

"First of all, Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen are my team and yes, I get that they sometimes overdo it, but that doesn't make them a cheer squad. Second, Gramps is going to do what he wants, no matter what I say. So I'm trying to bite the bullet and just get this shit over with. And the sooner we leave for the Heartfilia Estate, the sooner we get there and figure this shit out. And I know you can't stand Erza, Gray and Natsu anymore than I can so I would assume you can understand my desire to get this shit over with."

"Understandable, considering everything. But I do not appreciate being treated like an Omega when I'm a Beta-Gamma with Gamma tendencies. Honestly, it's not only rude, but also pretty damned narrow-minded."

"Look, if you want to get pissed at me for wanting to make sure you and Lucy are safe, be my guest. But I'm going to head to the Heartfilia Estate and try getting to the bottom of this. If you want to come along, drop the attitude and come along," he snapped, turning back to the Guild to collect Lucy. Sonya clenched her jaw and glared at the ground before taking a deep breath.

"He's still just learning," she muttered to herself, running her hands over her pulled-back hair to tug on her braid a few times. "He'll learn, he'll learn. He'd better learn because damn if it's not irritating!"

 

Once Sonya, Laxus and Lucy had all their things together for the trip and made it to the train station, Erza approached them, Gray and Natsu arguing behind her. Rai hopped onto Lucy's shoulders and lay there like a scarf.

"Lucy, are you ready to go?" the redhead asked.

"Yea," the blonde said with a smile. Erza nodded, also smiling and headed towards the train where the conductors were staring in awe at her massive cart of luggage.

"What the heck?" Sonya asked as she took in the sight.

"Erza always packs like that for any job she goes on as far as I know," Lucy sighed with a shrug.

"She has a pocket dimension to store her armor in so what the heck could she possibly need all that luggage for?" Laxus asked before he headed for the train. Sonya gently encouraged Lucy to follow and the caramel-haired girl took up the rear.

The trio took up one bench and stashed their packs over their heads. After a few minutes, Natsu and Gray made their way to the opposite bench and sat down, Happy taking a seat on Natsu's lap as Rai curled up in Lucy's. The lion-like Exceed purred as the blonde female petted him. Laxus rested his arm over the backrest of the bench, letting Lucy recline against his arm and Sonya against his wrist. Erza stomped in a few moments later and all but slammed herself down onto the bench.

"Such simple-headed morons!" she hissed.

"What happened?" Lucy asked.

"Just what always seems to happen at train stations; none of these people know how to properly handle my luggage!" the redhead snarled. The train whistle blew and Natsu grunted as he clutched his stomach.

"Oh no! Natsu looks all pukey!" Happy cried. "Lucy, you gotta do your weird head-touchy thing to make him feel better."

"And why should I do that?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "He's gone on jobs before, he knows what to expect. Aside from that, if I were to do that, I'd have to go over there instead of sitting with my Pack and I can already tell that wouldn't be any good for anyone."

"But if you don't Natsu's gonna get sick!"

"He was sick even when I did it before! It changes nothing if I do it or not, so I'm not going to cause a problem for Laxus and Sonya by putting myself right in the middle of those three!"

"Come now Lucy-" Laxus shoved himself to his feet and opened Natsu's window before making him slouch into the open space.

"Leave her alone, Scarlet," he growled as he laid his coat on the bench and left the bench. "I'll be back." Sonya nodded and he left. Lucy gingerly wrapped his coat around her and Sonya's shoulders. Rai let out a warm chuckle as the two females cuddled together.

"Sonya, a thought occurs to me," Erza said, touching her chin with a finger.

"You, thinking? That's a scary idea," Sonya snipped, earning her a harsh glare that was quickly covered with a mask of indifference.

"I'm aware you joined the Guild around the time we were sealed on Tenrou Island, is this true?"

"Yes. What of it?" the caramel-haired Wizard asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Well, I don't know if I should inform you of this. But as a fellow Guild member, it is my responsibility to ensure that both yours and Lucy's maidenly honor is not tarnished by-"

"Maidenly honor? Seriously Erza?" The redhead blinked at Sonya's words.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Erza, I doubt you have any business in mine or Lucy's 'maidenly honor' as you put it. I mean, considering the only thing remotely feminine about you is the fact you have a vagina and even that's been questioned before," Sonya said with a smirk. Erza and Gray wore twin expressions of shock and Lucy looked fearfully at Erza, waiting for her retaliation.

Erza cleared her throat, her cheeks tinted red.

"As I was saying. As a fellow Guild member, I feel the need to inform you that Laxus is not a man that you want to associate with," she said quickly. "Mira has already informed you that he slept around before meeting you two and there's no telling whether or not he's currently doing so behind your backs."

"Oh, Lucy and I ran into a hooker he slept with once," Sonya said with a smile before slinging her arm over Lucy's shoulders. "You should've seen Lucy go Beta on that whore! Her face was totally priceless! Then she tried getting Laxus to sleep with her again and he shot her down flat out. Next grievance?"

"Wait a second, Lucy went Beta? What the heck does that mean?" Gray asked.

"Well, Lucy is a Beta-Gamma with Beta tendencies. Meaning she's the second-in-command of our Pack. To go Beta on someone, basically means Lucy establishes her territory and lays claim to her Mates. So what happened was that this whore sent Laxus a beer while he was on a date with Lucy and I. We tried sending it back but she sent it right back to us. Lucy took it, opened it and poured it on her in the middle of 8 Island!" Erza and Gray watched with slacked jaws as Sonya burst into laughter at the memory.

"Lucy? Is this true?" Erza asked. Lucy swallowed and nodded.

"I would get that kinda response if you'd been with Laxus since forever and he was a nice guy," Gray mumbled. "But can't you see you're changing because of him?"

"Because of him?" Sonya asked, raising an eyebrow.

"And getting back to my point," Erza said. "Since you joined around December time, I'll inform you of Laxus' transgression against the Guild myself."

"I already know what it was," Sonya deadpanned.

"It was October 15th, X784. During the Miss Fairy Tail Beauty Pageant, Lucy was about to perform a cheer with her Celestial Spirits when Evergreen appeared out of nowhere, already declaring herself the victor. Unbeknownst to the rest of the Guild, she'd already turned all of the rest of us competing in the pageant into stone statues. She did the very same to Lucy and then Laxus appeared, claiming he was taking us all hostage and if those who were not statues did not participate in the Battle of Fairy Tail, then he would turn us all into dust, starting with Lucy."

"I know this already," Sonya yawned.

"Then, like a coward, he left the Guild and hid in Kardia Cathedral until Natsu and myself were able to be freed of his and Freed's cowardly enchantments-"

"Stop talking," Sonya growled, rubbing at her temples.

"And then I discovered that he'd encircled the entire town in his Thunder Palace. Upon the completion of his timer, the lightning lacrimas would fry everything within their boundaries to ash. I myself was forced to take down two hundred on my own, with all two hundred returning an attack upon me because of the Body Link Magic he'd placed on them."

"I already know all this," Sonya growled again.

"As a proud member of Fairy Tail, I know that your heart aches upon hearing Laxus' sins against his fellow members. But fear not for I am here and can help you to-" Sonya shot to her feet and quick as a flash, slapped Erza so hard the redhead flew into the aisle, stunned and a red mark already appearing on her flesh. Sonya's hand stung and tingled as she slowly lowered it.

"Listen up you bitch!" Sonya barked, Gray and Lucy backing away from her slightly as other riders looked at the two. "I know why Laxus got expelled from the Guild! I also know everything that happened during Fantasia and leading up to it! And I kept saying that over and over again, but you wouldn't listen to me for shit!"

"How dare you-"

"How dare you talk about him like you've spent any time trying to get to know or understand him since he returned to the Guild?!" Sonya barked right back. "Laxus has changed since Fantasia and you refuse to even consider that may have happened! All you can think about is that he's in your way of controlling Lucy and the rest of the Guild! But Laxus is the Alpha of my Pack, and I'll be damned if I just sit back and let you talk about him like that when you don't even bother to be civil with him in the first place!" With that, Sonya sat herself back in her seat.

"Why you ungrateful-" Erza roared as she sprung to her feet, summoning a sword to her hand. Sonya growled as Lucy pushed herself back into the corner. Rai snarled at the redhead.

"Erza wait!" Gray yelled as he shot to his feet, putting a hand up to stop the redhead. The former S-Class Wizard swung the sword and just before the blade touched Gray, Sonya yanked a bone-handle knife from her bag and her blade just managed to catch Erza's.

"You call yourself a proud Fairy Tail member. Fairy Tail doesn't kill and I'm fairly certain that if I hadn't stopped you just now, you would've killed one of us, you psycho bitch!" Erza's eyes widened and she looked at her sword and then at Sonya and then Sonya's knife.

"Seriously, I leave for ten minutes, fifteen at most and this is what I come back to?" Laxus snarled as he grabbed and twisted Erza's arm, forcing her to drop the sword. He shoved her back into her seat and turned to his Mates, quickly checking them over. "You two alright?"

"Aside from the near heart attack I just suffered, I'm fine," Lucy sighed, relieved as Sonya nodded and put her knife back into her backpack. Laxus nodded and pulled a cut cigar from his pocket as he sat down.

"You smoke cigars?" Sonya asked as Laxus lit his cigar.

"Sometimes," he replied with a shrug. "But Gray used to smoke cigarettes if I remember correctly."

"I quit a little while ago," the Ice-Make Wizard said with a shrug.

The hour that followed was filled with Lucy explaining things about the house, like how originally it had been a simple home that looked like a townhouse. Every owner had added onto the house in some way, shape or form and there was a part of the library totally dedicated to the history of the house and the owners through the years.

Laxus kept most of his attention on Erza through the ride. He'd heard most of what she'd told Sonya and had an idea of what she'd been trying to convince the girl of. He did not appreciate the redhead's attempt to sway Sonya's loyalty, although he doubted her loyalty would've been swayed at all.

Then there was the fact Erza had swung a sword at Sonya, Lucy and Gray with no regard for the consequences. This would have to be addressed immediately, probably with Makarov nearby to handle any situations Erza caused. In the meantime though, he and his Pack were trapped on a trip with a raging psychopath just waiting for a reason to pull out another sword.

Once they got home, he'd address this issue. He needed as few issues as possible on this trip and while Sonya may have addressed the main issue, even stood up to Erza.

 

Rose looked over the Key she'd snatched and then glanced at the records book again before slamming the thing shut. The last person to hold a Shield Key had died a hundred years before and had been a woman. It did absolutely nothing to aid her in figuring out who this mysterious man was.

"You know, you and your brother should have a frustration-off." Rose turned and looked at Bickslow as he neared the table with a stack of books, each of his babies carrying more.

"Frustration-off?"

"Yea. A contest to see who can get more frustrated yet not show it. Although, Laxus may have a bit of a head start on ya," the Seith Wizard mused. Rose snorted and covered a laugh.

"Maybe when we get home," she said before looking over the Key in her hands.

"Where'd ya get that?" Bickslow asked.

"At the church where I was stationed, we heard a scream before the building collapsed. I sent Kit in to find them and he returned with a statue of a man, holding this Key. I was trying to figure out who he might be. But the records here are kinda…dated to say the least." Bickslow hummed as he looked at the Key.

"Can't you summon the Spirit?" he asked.

"Tried. But the Spirit won't answer. Don't get me wrong I have summoned a Celestial Spirit or two in my life. While a part of the Knights we'd sometimes have to ask them questions as they would be the only witnesses. I know I did everything right in order to summon him but he won't appear," Rose explained, gently laying the Key on the table. "I even looked up what the Shield Spirit looks like. Apparently, they'll usually appear as a young man or woman holding a body-sized shield."

"Wait, don't Spirits only have one form?" Bickslow asked.

"Usually. But Silver Keys are special. They're the only ones of all the Celestial Spirits that have many copies running around, save for Draco's. I know Perseus and Andromeda talked about the Spirits being banished, dying here and then returning in another form after. But that's usually the Spirit of the constellation itself. If a Key like Lucy's Plue were to be banished, his Key would fade entirely from existence. In actuality, the version of casting Sonya and Lucy know is opening the Gate of the Spirit itself, a very advanced technique. In the ancient language, the phrase to summon a Celestial Spirit can be roughly translated to 'Open, Gate to the Palace of' whatever Spirit."

"So essentially…"

"Yea. Sonya and Lucy call down the top dog at the Palace whenever they summon Spirits. Who knows, maybe if there were more Golden Keys, we'd see more versions of Leo and Aries and all them, like how there's many forms to Canis Major and Minor and all them.."

"I see. And you know all this by…?" Rose chuckled at Bickslow's question.

"First, there's a Crux Key in the library I would sometimes use as a Knight. Second, my mother's mother was a Celestial Wizard. Third, I have other means of getting my information. Fourth, why are you even asking? My father runs a freaking Dark Guild."

"Crux as in the Southern Cross?" Bickslow asked, placing his books to the side.

"Yea. The Palace of Crux is the keeper of all knowledge available to the Celestial Spirit Realm. So long as even one Key exists in our world, they have eyes in it."

"So if this Crux is the keeper of all knowledge, then maybe they have an idea about who owned this Key?"

"Tried that once," Rose sighed. "Apparently there's all these Key-Holder privacies and securities that only give names, nothing more. As in, no battles, nothing about interactions between Spirit and Wizard, so on and so forth."

"I see," the Seith Wizard mused. "A conundrum indeed. But maybe we just need the guy's name? Then we can try looking through the records for that."

"Maybe. But we'd need the Spirit of the Key itself for that. Every Silver Key looks alike. It's the Spirit that appears that makes it different. Thus, the fact I can't summon this Spirit is causing a roadblock of epic proportions."

"I see," Bickslow said as Rose laid her chin on the table with a sigh.

"I miss my baby." The Seith Wizard smiled in an attempt to be comforting and placed a hand on the mother's shoulder.

"We'll figure it out. Now, can you think of any reason why you wouldn't be able to summon this particular Spirit?"

"Only the Wizard contracted to it can summon it. But if the owner is dead, or has relinquished ownership, anyone can open it."

"So…that would mean its owner is still alive."

"Yep. And considering where I pulled it from, I don't think we're getting any answers from him."

"Yeesh, this is a bind," Bickslow groaned.

"You're telling me," Rose sighed as she leaned back in the chair. "Plus, the body is locked up and I can't get to it without Lahar and about thirty other people." The Seith Wizard cackled.

"True, you and I can't…But my babies…" The wooden totems began flying around Rose and Bickslow's heads. The scarlet-tipped blonde smiled widely and quickly wrote some runes to keep anyone from seeing or hearing anything that Bickslow or Rose didn't want them to.

The totems immediately flew off down the hall and Bickslow's eyes began glowing green behind the visor. Rose sat down again and her shoulders dropped as she saw the strange light reflecting off his visor.

"Here," she said gently as she reached over and slipped the visor off his head and set it on the table. Bickslow's hand shot up to cover his eyes, only to have Rose gently pull his hand away too. The Seith Wizard kept his eyes averted. "What's up?"

"Nothing."

"Then why can't you look me in the eye?" she asked. "I'm aware that you're probably nervous about your Magic. But I'm curious about it, not afraid of it." Bickslow glanced at her and just as quickly looked away, his body tensing slightly.

"It's just a personal thing," he said, rubbing lightly at his Corpse Yard tattoo. Rose gently reached over and traced it carefully, as if it were made of glass.

"Was it something these people did?" she asked.

"They did lots of stuff to me," he sighed.

"Like what? That is, if you want to talk about it." Bickslow slowly stood up, turned around and pulled up his shirt. Just between his shoulder blades was a long, jagged scar. Rose's eyes widened.

"That was the first thing they did to me," he said as he righted his shirt. "My mother's family had been a target for people wanting to make profit off Seith Wizards for years. I'm apparently the most powerful one born in centuries. It's hard enough for a Seith Wizard to seal a soul to a vessel like I do with my babies. But with five, simultaneous, and being able to move them to different vessels when needed, is practically unheard of." Rose stood up and traced the scar with her fingertips, feeling a thin layer of sweat building up under her fingers, her chest feeling like ice as her heart sank.

"And how did this happen?" she asked.

"The person who founded Corpse Yard was my mother's brother who didn't inherit Seith Magic. He came to our home and took my younger brother and sister hostage, trying to get my mother or I to come over to him. When my father attacked him, my uncle killed all three of them. My mother sent me away with my baby brother and was killed trying to protect us. Somehow, my uncle caught up and…" Bickslow physically tensed up and took a shaky breath as Rose placed her hand flat on his back. "He killed my baby brother, saying Corpse Yard had no place for infants. I got this scar when he…cut my pupu's head-"

"Okay," Rose said as she pulled Bickslow to sit down again and righted his shirt. The Seith Wizard wiped at his still glowing eyes and took a shaky breath.

"I'm okay," he assured, his fingers tightening on the table. Rose placed her hand on his.

"Just now. You said 'pupu' did you mean your baby brother?" she asked.

"In the Tongue, 'pupu' means 'baby' or 'infant'. 'Papa' means 'father', 'pepe' means 'mother', 'pipi' means 'little brother' and 'popo' means 'little sister'." Rose's eyes widened before she glanced at the hall where the babies had flown towards.

"Bicks…" she breathed before wrapping her arms around him.

"I damaged them though. For some reason, when they died they didn't pass on and stuck near me. Through the years, I kept them as close to me as I could. But for a long time they had no vessels. Because of that, they…forgot parts of themselves. It's why they copy what I say. And Seith Magic says I have to help them restore themselves before I help them pass over to the other side. And help them wrap up whatever loose ends remained after their deaths."

"Alright Bickslow. I understand," she said, seating herself on the Wizard's lap as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Why the hell did I say all that?" he muttered under his breath. Rose smiled slightly.

"I may have an answer for that one. I discovered something about Erik. As it turns out, he's a Dragon Slayer. And I'm the Alpha of his Pack." Bickslow's eyes widened. "And then, when we were coming here, I saw a spark come off our hands when they touched slightly. So my guess would be…that you're part of our Pack too."

"Are you serious?" he breathed, covering his mouth. Rose smiled at him and placed a hand on his knee.

"Yes I am." The Seith Wizard let out a strained chuckle as he leaned back slightly in the chair.

"So I'm probably going to have other step-kids come up aside from Lexi?"

"Probably. And…probably some of your own. Unless you know something I don't?" Bickslow managed a half-smile.

"My uncle wanted Seith Wizards. And he left my home with only one. After a few years, he decided he wanted more and began plans to breed me. Upon hearing them, I…uh. Heh…You could say I did something drastic."

"You castrated yourself?!" Rose cried.

"Vasectomy," Bickslow corrected. "But yea, essentially. I couldn't let my uncle do as he pleased. I'll be the end of my family's legacy, and hope and pray that there's others out there who practice true Seith Magic and continue to teach it to the next generations." Rose gave his knee a gentle squeeze.

"No. Your family's legacy will continue. You've already had an impact on Lexi, and I know she'll learn more from you as time goes on. She may not be a Seith Wizard, and who knows if we'll ever find another. But I know for a fact that your family's legacy will be carried on. In the hearts of our Pack, our Nest, our Guild." Bickslow smiled at the woman and sighed.

"How is it you know exactly what to say?" he asked. Rose shrugged.

"Don't ask me. I came up with all that off the top of my head." The two burst into laughter for a moment. Once the moment passed, Bickslow turned towards the hall the babies had flown down. "What is it?"

"They found something," he muttered, his eyes glowing slightly brighter. Rose watched as his irises seemed to pulse in time with his heartbeat.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm seeing what they see," he said, his voice slipping into a monotone as a bead of sweat ran down from his temple. "There's a room in the lower levels. It's full of people…wait a second. Not people."

"Statues of people," Rose muttered.

"Yea."

"Can you tell how many there are?" she asked. Bickslow was silent for a moment.

"Probably about two or three dozen, maybe more. But…there's some of them with Keys next to them."

"Silver Keys, right?"

"Yea. Unless I'm seeing them wrong," he muttered, his hands starting to shake. "I can't see their souls through my babies. But I can definitely sense soul energy coming from all the statues." Bickslow closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the chair as he panted slightly. "They're coming back. I can't send them that far for too long. It's a big toll on my Magic Power."

"I understand. You did good Bicks," Rose said gently, rubbing soft circles into the man's shoulder.

"Hold on a sec," he said, gritting his teeth in effort. "Someone's close to them…Talking."

"Bickslow?" Rose pressed a little harder on his shoulder, feeling the sweat beginning to seep into his clothes as his face pinched in effort. "Bickslow."

"Shit. It's coming through like static," he muttered.

"Bickslow, enough. You're using up too much Magic Power. Have them come back."

"Neville. They're talking about some Cardinal Neville."

"Bickslow!" Rose said with a little more force. She could sense how low his Power was getting and she bit her bottom lip. She wanted to know so many things. Who was talking, why were they there, who this Cardinal Neville was, but she could tell Bickslow was quickly nearing his limits. Her instincts were practically screaming she make him stop. She grabbed him by the chin and made him look her dead in the eye. "Bickslow! Stop! Bring them back now!" she barked.

"I can handle it," he managed through grit teeth. "Ya don't get far in the Thunder Legion without pushing yourself."

"You're pushing yourself too far! You're gonna hurt yourself! Call them back now!" Bickslow clenched his teeth harder as his hands began shaking, sweat running down his face and neck in tiny rivers.

"They're coming," he panted. "I couldn't make out any more."

"You got plenty," Rose said gently, as she pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and began wiping the sweat off Bickslow's face. "We got a name, it's better than the nothing we were going off of earlier. Now we'll just look into that lead for whatever information we can." Bickslow's babies came barreling into the room and all but tumbled onto the table. The Seith Wizard's eyes returned to their normal ruby hue as Rose slipped off his lap.

"I couldn't make out more of what was being said. But…whoever they were. Their soul felt just…wrong. I can't explain it better than that but just…wrong. It wasn't warped or damaged or anything unusual. Just…not right," Bickslow explained as he sat up again.

"Look through your books. See if you can find anything like that," Rose said as she dismissed the runes. "I'm going to look into this Cardinal Neville character."

"Yes ma'am." Rose smiled slightly before turning and beginning to look through the bookshelves for a toad. Midnight's words echoed in her head and she bit her lip. She'd been honest with Bickslow to a point, but then again, she hadn't been.

As a Knight, she'd learned about the Oracion Seis but had never seen a picture of the members, only of the tragedies left in their wake. Karen Lilica had been found with the symbol of the Six Demons painted in her own blood on her body in six different places. That had been the first recorded time they'd appeared.

Rose paused in her steps as she leaned against a bookshelf, pressing a hand to her mouth as tears appeared in her eyes.

The Seis had been caught and arrested after the Nirvana Incident seven years before. Laxus had just found his way to Rose and Lexi at that point. Which meant that Cobra had most certainly been in the prison when Lahar went around collecting DNA.

"Miss?" Rose looked up to see a red toad nearing her with a concerned look.

"I'm fine. I was looking for one of you actually."

"What can I help you with?" the frog croaked.

"I want any and all information you have on four people; Cardinal Neville, Midnight, Angel and… and Cobra," Rose managed.

"Yes ma'am!" The frog bowed slightly before turning and heading off to find the information. Rose headed back to her table with Bickslow. The scarlet-tipped blonde swallowed around the knot in her throat.

Her precious Erik and Sorano had brought harm to others and even killed as Cobra and Angel of the Oracion Seis. The friends she'd grown up with, the man she'd thought of as a surrogate father, were all in a Dark Guild, a member of the Baram Alliance at that. A part of her doubted the Erik and Sorano she'd known as a child and then a teenager could ever do such things.

Then again, people changed. Rose could remember a time in her life when she had declared she'd never have children, had never liked children and never would like children, yet here she was, wishing to return to her quiet life with her precious daughter. She couldn't imagine her life without her baby.

But then again, Erik had acted like he hadn't changed at all when he and Sorano had found her in the woods on her first time defending the churches. He'd held her and kissed her in a similar way to when she was fifteen and they'd conceived their daughter.

Rose clenched her jaw and shook her head. She had to get to the bottom of this. Not only for the sake of returning to her daughter and removing the tests from the Counsel's grasp, but also for the sake of Erik and Sorano.


	29. Chapter 29

"Ah! Solid ground never felt so good to stand on! I swear I'll never take it for granted again!" Natsu practically screamed as he kissed the floor of the train station repeatedly. Sonya watched him curiously as Laxus growled in irritation and Erza carefully looked over and arranged her luggage.

"He's certainly enthusiastic," the caramel-haired Wizard stated, earning a strained chuckle from Lucy.

"It's embarrassing," Laxus snarled.

"Oh my goodness! Natsu! What are you doing?!" Lucy's eyes widened as she snapped around to see Michelle looking Natsu over, Wendy and Carla standing off a little ways.

"Just showing my appreciation for solid ground Michelle!" Natsu cheered. The sandy-blonde let out a strained chuckle.

"Michelle, what are you doing here?" Lucy asked as she neared.

"Well…I said I was coming too, didn't I?"

"Yea. But I thought you'd come on a later train, considering you were supposed to work today," the golden blonde stated.

"Kinana told me to go ahead and come along. That she and Mira can handle things while we look into Mr. Jude's memento. I also brought Wendy."

"Yea, she thought that if Erza and Gray were being sent along too, it would be a good idea to have a healer in the ranks too," Wendy chirped brightly.

"Thanks for coming," Lucy said with a smile.

"Considering we still owe money to Fairy Hills, I suggested against coming along! Although a certain someone decided not to listen to me," Carla stated with her paws on her hips, earning her a harsh glare from Sonya.

"Carla, it's just one thing to help out and just in case," Wendy defended.

"Listen to your heart, but use your head child! Putting off this problem will not solve it!"

"I'm not putting it off. I'll pay back Fairy Hills when I have the money. Aside from that, there's been plenty of jobs we could've taken, but you objected to all of them and I'm starting to go stir-crazy in our room all day!" the Sky Dragon Slayer retorted.

"Then focus on improving your Magic Power child, it's a simple matter!" Carla said with a tone of finality. Laxus shook his head and shot a tiny lightning bolt at Carla, just missing her enough to not electrocute her but close enough to make his intention clear.

"How dare you!" the Exceed screamed.

"I warned you what would happen next time you decided to act all disrespectful to everyone, didn't I?" Laxus asked. "One more chance, cat, otherwise I'll be forced to separate you and Wendy for Wendy's own good!"

"You have no right to-"

"Want to try us?" Sonya asked, placing a hand on her Keys.

"Now, now," Erza said as she approached. "Everyone should calm down and take a breath. Carla is merely reminding Wendy of their responsibility to repay their debt to Fairy Hills, an action that moves me in honorability. No harm done. Now let's get moving to Heartfilia Mansion!" Sonya let out a low snarl at the redheaded woman before going over to Wendy and pulling the child into her side.

"Come on Wendy," she said before leaning closer to the girl's ear. "If we don't comply with Miss Fiery Airhead's demands, she'll probably slice us into pieces." Wendy whimpered.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, she swung a sword at me on the train so don't go near her unless you've got a good shield," Sonya hissed in warning before pulling Wendy and Michelle along. Carla hurried along after them, to which Sonya merely rolled her eyes and rubbed Wendy's arm.

Once the group was outside, Sonya pulled out the Charioteer Key and summoned the Spirit. Everyone got seated inside quickly and immediately, they were off to the Heartfilia Mansion.

Despite the eight of them being arranged so they all faced each other as Charioteer drove, Sonya made a point to not even glance at the redhead across from her. Sonya sat is what would've been the driver's seat if it had been facing the correct way with Gray to her left, Erza across from her, then sat Natsu, then Wendy, Michelle, Laxus and Lucy.

The Fire Dragon Slayer was only able to groan for a few minutes of the trip before Erza promptly knocked him out with a solid punch to the gut. Laxus winced at the sound but shook his head and turned towards Sonya. Immediately, his eyes were drawn to her tense arm facing him. He followed the line to see the fawn-haired woman was holding the handle of her knife so tightly, her knuckles were turning white. Yet the Celestial Dragon Slayer's breathing remained calm and even. He looked at Erza, who was keeping her eyes closed as she discussed the manner in which the group should be searching the Heartfilia Mansion upon arrival, not caring for any input on Lucy or Laxus' part or seemingly even for the unconscious Dragon Slayer in her lap.

Slowly, Laxus reached over and placed a hand on Sonya's tense shoulder, making her midnight-blue eyes gaze at him for a moment before she loosened her grip on her knife. The blonde male looked out the window as the nearly palpable tension in the car diminished some.

This whole idea of Makarov's was going to shoot itself in the foot. Erza was a control freak and Laxus knew Sonya couldn't stand her, especially after what had happened Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, never mind the New Years Ball. Natsu was barely controllable on his best days. Then there'd been the stunt he'd attempted that very morning with kissing Lucy to break a spell that didn't even exist to begin with. Then there was Gray. While the Ice-Make Wizard was slightly more tolerable than the other members of his team, the stripping habit was beyond annoying and the issue with Juvia needed to be sorted out and he'd clearly never tried doing anything for the poor girl. Aside from that, Laxus highly doubted two of the three people would listen to any orders he gave.

The Charioteer came to a stop and the group left the car. Laxus' jaw almost dropped at the size of the place. He'd seen a number of homes for the wealthy over his career, and this made all of them look tiny in comparison, even bordering on pathetic in many cases. The only place he could think of that may out-do the house before him was the Mercurious Palace in Crocus.

"Whoa, this place kinda looks familiar," Natsu mused as he looked over the Heartfilia Mansion.

"It's where Lucy grew up," Erza declared.

"Is it still owned by the family?" Laxus asked.

"Uh…Technically it's owned by the bank trying to sell it," Michelle said. "But Mr. Jude and the bank had this agreement. If this sort of thing happened, the house would return to the ownership of Lucy if she turned 25, had a child and the bank had been unable to sell the entire estate at its current real estate value."

"Tall order, considering how much land there is alone, never mind the house itself," Laxus said with a shrug.

Sonya looked over the grounds, taking mental note of all the rose gardens, acres of land speckled with small houses and the forests and mountains in the distance. Her chest ached slightly but any attempts to know why were met with a slight flash of pain in her skull.

"Sonya?" Lucy asked, catching the caramel-haired girl's attention.

"Nothing. I was just thinking how beautiful it all looks," she said softly.

"Yea. The house and gardens all look like they've been given lots of good care lately!" Happy declared.

"I suppose they'd want to keep it cleaned and well-maintained until a buyer can be found," Carla sighed, as if the idea itself was an impossible task.

"Apparently, that hasn't been easy," Lucy said with a smile. "People've checked it out but no one's made an offer to buy it."

"Because I doubt anyone can afford it," Gray chuckled.

"Such good memories," Michelle mused, bringing Lucy's attention to her as the sandy blonde stared off dreamily. "Your house always reminded me of a beautiful palace out of a storybook! I had so much fun here!"

"Wait, you've been here before?" Lucy asked. Michelle went silent and bit at her bottom lip slightly. Laxus took a step back, before Michelle collapsed beside the base of the statue and began bawling.

"We…hic…We used to play together all the time!" Michelle wailed. Lucy hurried over and wrapped her arms around the girl.

"That's right! Of course we did!" she said, rubbing Michelle's arms comfortingly and offering a handkerchief. Michelle dabbed at her eyes and sniffled as she looked at Lucy with big, watery eyes.

"You remember all the pretty clothes you made for me?" she hiccupped.

"Yea, sure. I remember," Lucy assured, glancing over her shoulder at her Mates.

"You made clothes?" Sonya asked.

"I never imagined you as the handy type," Carla commented.

"I bet the two of you must've been adorable," Erza cooed.

"She used to make the cutest outfits out of colored paper and flowers," Michelle mused, wrapping her arms around Lucy's middle. Lucy's eyes widened slightly. She couldn't remember doing stuff like that before.

"How would you make clothes out of paper and flowers?" Natsu whispered to Gray.

"Well…uh…" Both boys' faces turned red as they stared off into dreamland, imagining what the girls might look like wearing nothing but paper and flower clothing, quickly causing a spacing issue in both their pants. Laxus immediately snarled and shocked them both with a bolt of lightning.

He quickly turned away when Erza whirled and began yelling at him. He immediately began ignoring her, instead allowing his mind to wander. Lucy and Michelle hadn't seen each other in a long time so that would mean they were probably little kids. His imagination conjured up an image of a smaller version of Lucy and Michelle playing together, before the idea wiped Michelle away, leaving simply Lucy. A big, happy grin, big, round, curious brown eyes, little blonde curls probably pulled into a pair of pigtails.

Despite never having seen a picture of the younger version of his Mate, he had to admit that his imagination at least made it look cute.

His skull throbbed almost painfully enough to have him reach up and massage his temple to rid himself of the ache. Then Erza's voice began registering to his senses again and he groaned.

"I get it Scarlet, shut up already and let's get moving!" he barked in irritation before heading over to Lucy and leading his Pack and Michelle inside. Erza dragged Natsu and Gray inside after them and dumped them onto the floor of the main entrance.

Lucy looked around and swallowed down the lump that swelled in her throat. She could remember so many fond memories with her mother, running around in the gardens, reading in her mother's sitting room, cuddling between her parents after a nightmare, her mother's lessons in summoning Celestial Spirits, tutors she'd especially liked either because of the topic they taught her or the fact that they were the easiest to understand and learn from, and even a few happy birthdays before her mother passed away.

Most of the furniture was covered in white linens, the way that Lucy could recall it being when her parents and she would go to live in Crocus for a few weeks of the year in order to attend to matters of business.

"So where should we get started?" Wendy asked, her soft voice echoing in the long halls.

"We're going to start by-"

"We'll start by splitting into teams of two," Erza said, cutting Laxus off. "Each group will take a different area and scour every room from top to bottom. We're looking for old clocks, anything related to clocks, anything that may remind you of the inscription or the memento itself, or anything out of the ordinary. Clues may present themselves in any form so keep an open mind."

"How about we listen to the leader of this little entourage?" Sonya snapped, turning back to Laxus.

"Erza has the right idea in what to look for. Old clocks, things related to clocks, stuff that reminds us of the memento or the runes on it, anything written in Ancient Potymelian, anything out of the ordinary. But instead of splitting up, we're all going to go together, so stick with the group and don't wander around. Lucy, you knew this place best so where should we start?" Laxus asked.

"With the attic," Lucy said. Laxus gestured for her to lead the way and she headed on down the hallway. As she led them through the long, silent hallways, she began explaining the history of the house itself, pointing out certain rooms and their significance to her, all while keeping a smile on her face.

The original house had been a simple three-story townhouse-style building. Later renovations done by later owners would add in the other rooms and floors until the house became a sprawling mansion. The pillars and fountain had been the addition that Jude and Layla Heartfilia had added to keep the tradition. Lucy herself had dreamt of expanding the conservatory in the South Wing so that it reached the woods not too far away and could house many more exotic plants within its protection. Either that or creating a second maze garden that would require the use and understanding of riddles to solve.

The attic was the entire part of the house where the sloped roof replaced wall. Laxus was forced to stoop over in order to avoid hitting his head on the ceiling. Boxes were piled up so that they created a narrow space the blonde Dragon Slayer could barely fit through and at that, they were packed so tightly that moving them was next to impossible.

Finally the group came upon a small area where the boxes were not packed so tightly together and old furniture was draped in white sheets. Laxus was able to stand at full height but the tips of his hair still brushed against the ceiling.

"So it looks like we'll start in here," Lucy mused as she moved over to a box. The lid came up with a loud creak and the blonde let out a little hiccup before covering her mouth.

"What's the matter Lucy?" Sonya asked as she came over and peered into the box. "Aww!" The caramel-haired Wizard opened the box a little more and Laxus glanced over the girls' shoulders. Inside were dozens of baby things and memorabilia. Some were stored in smaller boxes or plastic bags, with their contents labeled in a neat, curly writing. Some that had no boxes were simply clothes and soft toys.

"This was my baby stuff," Lucy said, pulling out a tiny, white, ruffled dress. "I think there's a picture of me in this with my mother somewhere."

"You were so little," Sonya cooed as she pulled out a pair of tiny white shoes and slipped them onto her fingertips.

"There's certainly a lot of boxes in here," Erza said, looking into another one, labeled "Lucy Age 2-3yrs".

"Yea, there's a lot of stuff in general. Some of its priceless and I'm sure there's some stuff that's totally worthless," Lucy said as she gently closed the lid on her baby things and she and her Pack went over to the furniture covered in white sheets.

Laxus pulled one away and froze upon seeing the painting underneath. Parts of it looked torn and old. But he could definitely tell the image. Lucy was seated in a giant, red wingback chair with a large, fluffy, white dog at her feet. Her parents stood off to either side, all three wearing bright smiles and their finest clothing. Behind them was the Heartfilia Mansion, and the fountain that sprayed water into the air, giving the painting an almost life-like appearance.

Laxus could see the similarities between Layla Heartfilia and Lucy. However, the mother had a slightly thinner face and darker eyes, while Jude had a similar jaw to Lucy's and his eyes were the same doe-brown color. It looked as though Lucy had similar cheekbones to her father as well, and he could see tiny dimples in her chubby childly cheeks. Lucy definitely had her mother's nose though.

"I remember posing for this painting," Lucy said as she came over and gently touched the canvas. "It wasn't long before…Mom passed away. I had a heck of a time sitting still for the painting though. All I wanted to do was play. It was really hard on me when I lost her and unfortunately I took it out on everyone around me. I think…no, I know I was a little terror. I just made it harder on everyone."

"It's okay," Sonya said, looking sadly at the painting. "I know when I lost Ma-Pi and Cecil, I threw one hell of a tantrum. I didn't even think about how painful it was for Leona or Draco to lose them. We were a family so I wasn't the only one hurting."

"Ya know what…One day, I'm gonna save up enough money to buy this place! I'll put everything back how it used to be. Or as close as I can at least."

"Really? Do ya mean it?" Michelle asked, stepping forward.

"Yea," Lucy replied with a nod. Michelle's smile grew and tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"Oh no. It's a wonderful idea. I think-"

"A noble effort Lucy," Erza spoke up. "I shall endeavor to assist you in any way possible."

"Oh no," Lucy said, shaking her head and hands at the offer. "I've gotta do it myself or…I don't know. It just wouldn't be the same."

"Saving up this much money is gonna take a long time," Natsu said, looking around. "And you're always worried about paying your rent and all."

"Not since I left Team Natsu I haven't!" Lucy snapped at the Fire Dragon Slayer.

"Seriously Natsu," Sonya sighed, shaking her head. Laxus took a step back and caught sight of Sonya's tattoo on her back. The pupil of the eye seemed to lock on his for an instant.

Suddenly the right side of his face felt wet and hot, and he could feel rough cloth under his chin and left cheek. A bright pair of amber-gold eyes with slitted pupils filled his vision and panic rose in his chest.

Laxus reeled backwards in shock, hitting his back and the back of his head against a stack of crates. Everyone turned towards him with a raised brow and he shook his head, the images fading into memory.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," he said, rubbing the part of his head that had hit the edge of a crate. "The only issue is how much junk is up here."

"Sorry," Lucy chuckled. "But what were you saying Michelle?"

"I was going to say that I think that would make Mr. Jude very happy," Michelle finished. Lucy blinked once before she beamed and grabbed hold of Michelle's arms.

"Michelle, you just gave me another idea! Come on!" Lucy hurried out of the attic, Sonya fast on her heels with everyone else following behind her. Lucy led them to a massive pair of doors on the Northern Wing before she pushed them open.

A plush blue rug stretched out before them, leading to a massive mahogany desk covered in quills, a crystal ink well, and a lamp. The room itself took up two stories and every available space on the walls were taken up with books. Some were in glass cases in their own little cubbies along the doors' wall. Ladders were placed on each wall and each floor for easier access to the books on the higher shelves.

"Oh wow! This is amazing!" Michelle cried as they stepped into the room.

"This was Dad's library. He's actually the reason I became such a bookworm in the first place," Lucy chuckled. Sonya looked around and then at the books in the cubbies.

"Did he read all of these?" she asked.

"Some were used for my lessons, but yea. He and I read through this entire place at least once, maybe twice," the blonde female giggled.

"Bullshit," Laxus muttered as he looked at a shelf of books nearly as thick as his head. "Combined…maybe. But not individually." Sonya stepped closer to the books in glass.

"So you think your father could've hidden a clue somewhere in here?" she asked.

"Maybe, but it may take a while to find it," Lucy said with a shrug.

"Then we'd better get started," Laxus said as he went over to the desk and began looking through the drawers for anything.

Sonya looked at the books in glass cases, discovering upon looking that the pages were illustrated and yellowed with age. The ink of the words gleamed as if they'd just been written. A fingertip touched the glass to trace a fine letter and the page turned. Sonya's eyes widened slightly before touching the glass again, again causing the next page to turn.

The image of a bird created entirely of flames filled the page. The base of the tail touched the ground, and standing before the tail was a dark-clad male figure with long hair pulled into a ponytail. He had tanned skin and hair so black it nearly looked dark blue in the painting. He wore no shirt or shoes, merely covered in pants and a cloak with one side pushed behind him, revealing a sword attached to his hip, a Silver Key in his hand and the purple, black, and midnight-blue tattoo of a dragon on the inside of his forearm.

Sonya's eyes widened for a split second before a piercing pain shot through her skull, making her reel back and trip on her own feet, resulting in her sprawling on the floor and smacking her head sharply on the wood. She let out a groan as she slowly rolled over, rubbing at her head.

Laxus looked up from his search.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yea. I'm fine. Just…got surprised is all. Didn't realize touching the cases turned the pages," Sonya said dismissively.

"Yea. Those books are hundreds of years old and are so rare these days that they might be the only ones left in existence," Lucy explained. "The oils on human hands could ruin them so Dad funded the research and creation of these cases to protect books like this."

"Interesting," Sonya said with a nod as she stood up, casting a wary glance at the book in question.

Laxus sensed his Mate's unease but returned to his search of Jude Heartfilia's desk. A part of him questioned just how many drawers the man had required as the dozens of golden, lion-faced knobs stared back at him with snarling maws. Most of them held some piece of paper, or a quill of some sort. One had a number of journals with the Heartfilia crest imprinted on the soft brown leather and Jude's initials in the lower right corner of the covers.

The blonde male pulled out the stack of books, removed the bottom one carefully and opened it to the first page, reading over the first entry which was simply Jude introducing himself as a simple man starting in the Love and Lucky merchant guild. The Lightning Dragon Slayer skimmed through the pages, reading over the man's meeting Layla, their wedding and discovering Layla was pregnant and their decision to name their daughter Lucy when they left Love and Lucky.

Laxus then took the top journal and opened it up. The man who wrote the final journal was completely different from the humble, yet strong-willed man who'd written the first. Jude wrote of his frustrations with Lucy running away, the lengths he went to in order to find her, how he hired Phantom Lord, and hearing of the destruction of Fairy Tail's Guild Hall. Laxus felt a smirk spread over his lips as he read about Lucy standing up to her father, how she'd declared Fairy Tail her family, more so than her own father because they accepted her as she was. And to drive her point home, she'd ripped the expensive dress she'd worn off.

That part made Laxus pause. He glanced up at Lucy, who was looking through the shelves on the second story of the library. His vivid imagination drew up an image of the other blonde ripping the top of the dress off her body, revealing the corset underneath. And suddenly, his pants became almost uncomfortably tight. Laxus hissed a curse under his breath as he adjusted himself, before looking up to see Sonya smirking at him knowingly. She chuckled slightly and returned to her own search through the books in the glass cases.

Laxus sighed as he looked into another drawer, this one full of more books. The top one's title made him pause.

"The Anatomy of Pleasure? What?" he muttered before he opened the book, finding page after page of explicit illustrations of sex and sexual imagery, complete with descriptions as to how the illustration was to be put into action in order to elicit the most pleasure from the act. Laxus shut the book and opened the next one, this one going over different positions for sex and how the execute them. One page was dog-eared and warily, Laxus turned to it. Right at the top of the page, "Lucy" was written in Jude's writing. Laxus shut the book and pulled the other ones out. Every single one of them were about the act of sex, foreplay, even one or two on BDSM and fetishes.

"Find something interesting?" Laxus jumped and jerked around to face a smirking Sonya, who let out a little giggle. "You look like you got caught doing something naughty," she teased as she picked up one book. "Your Partner, You, and Everything In Between? My, my, how interesting." The brunette sat herself in Jude's wingback chair and opened the book.

"Are you seriously reading that?" Laxus asked, knowing the book was referring to fetishes and how one's personality may reveal different ones a person had.

"Yea. Why not? Maybe we'd find something you or Lucy don't know you'd like," she said with a shrug.

"Sonya, seriously. Now is not the time for that," Laxus hissed, looking back at Lucy, who seemed none the wiser to what her Mates were up to.

"Laxus, its sex. Literally, every single person knows about this even if they don't know they know. Aside from that, you've likely had sex more times than you can count, so why are you getting all embarrassed? Didn't expect your late father-in-law-to-be to have stuff like this? Or for Lucy's mother to be into thigh-high boots?" Sonya asked as she turned a page, noting the star in the corner.

"Normally, people don't just talk about this kind of thing," Laxus hissed. "Plus, I doubt Lucy knows about this stuff. So I don't know how she'll handle it."

"Well, at the very least, we know Jude Heartfilia's collection truly did include at least one book on every subject imaginable," Sonya said with a shrug as she closed the book and placed it on the desk with the journals and other sexual books.

"You guys find anything?" Lucy called from the second story as she climbed onto a ladder.

"Nothing yet!" Gray reported.

"Same!" Happy called.

"Nothing here," Erza said.

"Laxus found a bunch of sex books in your dad's desk!" Sonya called. Lucy's face flushed red as she looked at the brunette. Sonya laughed a little at the blonde female's face as Laxus pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Please tell me you're kidding," Lucy groaned.

"Nope! Not kidding! But…" Sonya picked up the second book Laxus had opened and whistled as she opened it to the dog-eared page. "If this is showing how you were conceived, damn your mother was flexible!" Laxus blinked and looked over Sonya's shoulder at the picture on the page. His eyes widened for a moment before he shook his head.

"How can a person bend like that?!" he asked.

"I probably could," Sonya said with a shrug. "I'd need to stretch first but I probably could manage that."

"Are you serious?"

"Guys!" Lucy groaned, earning a giggle from Sonya.

"I'm just saying, hun," she called. Lucy rolled her eyes and returned to searching again.

"What about this one?" Michelle asked as she approached the other blonde female, holding a book in hand. "It just seems kinda special." Lucy turned and looked at the book. She blinked and tilted her head slightly. All the books in her father's library were bound, covered and professionally done. This book had no real spine aside from a few strings tying everything together. On the front cover the words "To My Daughter" were engraved in a small, gold plaque.

"Maybe," Lucy muttered as she stepped off the ladder and took the book in hand. She walked down the stairs and began thumbing through the pages as she neared her father's desk. Laxus cleared a space as the blondes neared.

Team Natsu crowded around the desk to watch as Lucy flipped through the book, blank pages whizzing by.

"That's weird," Sonya muttered, putting the book in her hand down. "The title makes it seem like it would hold sentimental value, but there's absolutely nothing inside."

"Think maybe there's been some kind of spell cast on it? Or maybe it's written in invisible ink?" Michelle asked.

"I know someone who can tell us everything about it," Lucy beamed as she began fiddling with her Key Ring before pulling a Silver Key off. "Open, Gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!" The old, silver cross appeared above the desk, hovering in midair, a grandfatherly smile on his face.

"Ah, Miss Lucy. What can I assist you with today?"

"Can you tell us anything about this book?" Lucy asked, holding up the object in question. Crux 'hrmm"ed and "haw"ed over it for a second.

"I'm afraid nothing comes to mind immediately, but I'll take a look in the Celestial Library if you like."

"I'd appreciate that," Lucy said with a smile. Immediately, Cruz tilted slightly to the side and let out a snore.

"Did he fall asleep?" Laxus asked.

"Nah, he's doing his search," Lucy replied with a bright smile. "If anyone can figure this out, its Grandpa Crux."

A few minutes later, Crux let out a yell that shook the desk under him, making everyone but Lucy jump in surprise.

"Any luck?" the unaffected blonde asked.

"What we have here is nothing more than a stack of incredibly old papers. There are no spells, invisible inks or watermarks to be found inside. And it would appear to be the case that your late father bound the book by hand," Crux reported. Sonya's eyes narrowed slightly as she gazed at the book.

"I see," Lucy sighed. "Is there anything else you can tell me about it?"

"I have a suggestion at the very least. It may serve you well to consider approaching this book as a riddle of some form. Think of the title 'To My Daughter'. Perhaps it could be an anagram?"

"An ana-what?" Natsu asked, tilting his head to the side.

"An anagram," Sonya sighed. "Basically it means the letters are all mixed up and we need to figure out what order they're supposed to be in. Like if your name had two N's we could say your name was an anagram for suntan."

"That makes no sense. Why would he want to mix up the letters? Reading's hard enough as it is," the Fire Dragon Slayer groaned.

"Some people during wars use it as a code in order to keep the enemy from learning their plans," Laxus explained. "But I don't blame you for not getting it, Natsu, considering you would need a functioning brain, not a lump of charcoal."

"What was that?" Natsu growled as he stomped over to Laxus.

"Knock it off," Sonya snapped at the pink-haired boy as she grabbed a pen and a few pieces of paper from the desk. "Now, let's see that title."

"He started it!" Natsu objected, pointing at Laxus.

"I don't care," the brunette said harshly as she began writing out the letters of the title. "So we've got A, D, E, G, H, M, O, R, two T's, U, and Y." She handed out the sheets to the other members of the group. "Let's write down what we think they could be. Use all the letters you can, even if it doesn't make a real word."

Everyone sat down and began writing out whatever they could.

"I've discovered it!" Erza declared suddenly, rising to her feet, beaming at her page.

"What is it?" Gray asked.

"It's a list. I shall recite them and I do believe you all will agree with my assessment."

"I highly doubt that," Sonya muttered as Erza held up her page as if it were a scroll.

"Angel food, Devil's food, Eierschecke, Gingerbread-"

"Wait a second," Sonya said, holding up a hand.

"Hot milk, molten chocolate, opera, red velvet-"

"Stop!" Sonya snapped, her arms beginning to clench and tremble.

"Tiramisu, tompouce, upside-down, and yurla."

"What kind of a list is that?" Natsu asked.

"A bullshit list of cakes and pastries," Sonya snapped, rising to her feet. "How the hell did you get that idea?!"

"One would be hard pressed to think of a daughter without the idea of sweets, cakes and pastries from Magnolia. Many of our bakeries have delicacies named after the daughters of the owners. Therefore, I noticed that many of the letters in bakery were not used in the anagram and figured that when Mr. Jude Heartfilia thought of writing this book, he became distracted with the idea of cake from his hometown and departed immediately to get some."

"My dad's not from Magnolia, though," Lucy said.

"And even if he were, not everyone in the damn world is as obsessed with stuffing their face with sugar as you," Sonya snapped. "Now if you're not going to at least act like you have half a cell for a brain, then get the hell out of here and stay out of our way!"

"As per Master's orders, I am here to-" Sonya yanked her knife free and held the tip to Erza's nose, nearly pressing into the skin.

"If you say, protect Lucy and I, I swear I'll cut your tongue out and feed it to my dogs! For starters, you don't even know what I can and cannot do, Scarlet! For two, protecting the Pack is the job of the Alpha and Gamma and to say we're incapable is not only an insult that I won't tolerate, but it's more than grounds enough in my culture for me to take a couple of swings at you! Because Makarov ordered it and he's absolutely ignorant of my culture, I let it go up until now! But here you are, attempting to seize control of everything, again, despite knowing Laxus is the one who Master put in charge of this little adventure!"

"Why you little-" Sonya pressed her knife a little further until a bead of blood appeared on the tip of Erza's nose.

"Turn around and leave. Now," the brunette hissed, her eyes blazing and the grip on her blade tightening slightly.

"You would not-" Sonya flicked her wrist, causing the knife to slide to the side, cutting Erza's cheek before retaking her original position at the redhead's nose.

"You do not know me, Scarlet. And I am at the limits of my patience with you. Now, you will turn around, leave this room and head back to the Guild. When you get back there, you will explain to Makarov that you failed your job, and it was because of your own stubbornness and stupidity. Refuse this, and I'll show you a few ways Dragon Slayers handled these situations in their culture." Erza bared her teeth but slowly began to back away. Sonya watched for any movements hinting at deviation from the directed course. Once the library doors closed again, Sonya let out a sigh and sheathed her knife.

"What was that about?!" Lucy snapped.

"She wouldn't listen otherwise," Sonya said simply. Lucy shook her head and returned to her page with an angry huff. Laxus looked between his Mates. He didn't need the link to know Lucy was livid at Sonya for her actions. But his attempts to find out Sonya's feelings on the matter were met with a figurative brick wall.

A part of him could understand Sonya's reasoning. Erza was bullheaded as they came and the only way to get through to her was with extremes. But h also sympathized with Lucy on the fact that Sonya using a knife on Erza may have been a little over the top. Although his Inner Dragon was purring like a kitten when he let his mind drift on the memories of the event.

"I think I got something," Lucy said a few moments later.

"What is it?" Laxus asked, looking over Lucy's shoulder.

"I got MYTH GREAT DUO. But if you switch those around some, you get duo great myth."

"Okay?" Lucy set her page down and headed up a flight of stairs to the upper level of the library.

"And that happens to be the name of a pair of books written by Will Neville, Life of the Clockwork is one and that's where we get the strange inscription from! The other book should be right here!" Lucy pulled out a familiar dark blue binding from the shelf and held it aloft. "Ta-da! Key of the Starry Heavens!"

"Isn't that just a picture book?" Natsu asked as Lucy brought the book back downstairs.

"It's not just a picture book," the blonde female snapped. "It's an amazing work of art!"

"Well whatever it is, I bet ya the word 'key' is pretty important," Gray said, stepping forward.

"It seems like the perfect place to start looking for a clue," Wendy said with a nod.

"Maybe Dad left a message of some sort inside this book," Lucy said before opening the book and beginning to leaf through the pages. Sonya glanced at the cover and felt a pull in her belly.

"Don't!" A series of images passed in front of her eyes, too fast to clearly register as more than a swirl of color and Sonya reeled back with a gasp, drawing the group's attention to herself.

"You okay?" Laxus asked.

"Just fine. I just…need a walk is all," she said quickly before heading for the doors, trying to rethink on the images she'd seen. Laxus and Lucy met eyes for a moment after the doors shut and the blonde female released a light sigh.

"I think the word you're looking for is, anyway…" Gray offered, gesturing back to the book.

"Well I don't even know what else there could be..." Lucy said, looking through the pages again. Not a single thing was out of place or stuck between the pages.

"Hey, I found my very favorite story!" Happy cheered as he reappeared from the second floor, holding another book. "Some say The Tortoise and the Hare is an amazing work of art as well!"

"Would you be so kind as to hand over the book?" Everyone snapped around at the unfamiliar voice near the door.

"I'm not giving this to some random stranger!" Happy declared, hiding behind Lucy.

"I don't find your joke to be very amusing, sorry," the voice said just before the door collapsed, throwing dust and dirt into the air.

"What's going on?!" Natsu cried.

"The door handle just blew up, that's what!" Laxus barked.

"What a rudimentary understanding. What happened was the handle expanded to twice its size, which in turn broke down the door." A tiny figure emerged from the dust and Carla and Happy stared wide-eyed. Standing in the gaping doorway was a small, pale-green Exceed with a large hat on top of his head marked with the symbol of Zentopia, glasses on his nose and dressed in a deep-blue shirt and what looked like a diaper under a red cape held in place with a blue gem.

"Whoa that's crazy."

"I don't believe it."

"He's an Exceed!" Happy cried, pointing at the tiny creature. "But he doesn't look like anyone I remember seeing in Extalia." The tiny, green Exceed snorted haughtily.

"He wasn't there. He must've hatched from one of the eggs that were sent to Earthland all those years ago, just like us."

"Tell us who you are!" Natsu demanded.

"The brains of the Legion Platoon. The name's Samuel."

"So you clowns came after us after all," Laxus snarled.

"Give back what you stole from Lucy!" Natsu demanded.

"I'm afraid that won't be happening."

"Say what?!" the Fire Dragon Slayer exclaimed,

"I consider this an amazing feat. Really quite spectacularly played. I mean, I knew you'd do exactly as I calculated by coming here and finding a clue, so of course you found one! I amaze myself," the cat said as he began hovering over their heads and looking through his book.

"Can I turn him into a cat-cicle now?" Gray snarled.

"Only if I can barbeque him once you're done," Natsu stated.

"I'm ready if you are," Wendy said to Laxus as she stepped beside him.

"Stay near Lucy, kid," he ordered as he stepped in front of Gray and Natsu.

"Then let's go! ICE MAKE: LANCE!"

"RAGING BOLTS!"

"FIRE DRAGON ROAR!" Lucy grabbed Wendy and pulled the child close as the three males attacked the Exceed. While normally she would've thought those three using Magic on that small a creature to be overkill, they'd already learned not to underestimate these guys the hard way.

Suddenly, all three attacks seemingly shot right back, flying off in various directions, causing Lucy and Wendy to duck into each other.

"What just happened?!" Gray yelled, placing himself directly in front of the girls.

"Some guy just came out of nowhere and deflected our attacks!" Laxus barked, ire rising as Gray threw his shirt away.

"Some guy? I'm the spearhead of the Legion Platoon," the second visitor said incredulously, as though all should be aware of their existence. "My name is Dan Straight, so check me out!" Laxus felt a twinge of annoyance as the dust fully cleared, revealing a youthful man with red hair, dark gray eyes, and tanned skin dressed entirely in bulky, clanking armor. He held a massive spear in his hand and on his left arm was a body-length, oval-shaped shield with the crest of Zentopia on it.

"Another personality disorder?" Happy muttered.

"You guys saw what I did with my spear right? It's called Ricochet, get it? This baby takes any attack you throw at it and sends it right back at you." Laxus let out a snarl of frustration.

"I've heard of that shield before, and it's extremely dangerous. Don't try attacking it, understood?"

"Why do you guys gotta be such pains in the butt?!" Natsu roared, very obviously not taking in a word of what Laxus had said as he raced towards the Exceed and knight.

"Come at me, it'll be the same as before!" Dan declared.

"Not if I melt that thing first!" Natsu spewed fire from his hands towards the shield. Laxus immediately grabbed onto Lucy, Michelle and Wendy, pulling them into the protection of his coat as the attack shot back in over a dozen directions. The blonde checked over his shoulder and was thoroughly surprised to see Gray standing in front of them with a shield made of ice as a protective measure against Natsu's fire.

"Could we please take this outside?!" Lucy shrieked. Laxus heard the Exceed refer to a book and looked down at the one in Lucy's hands. She looked as well and her brows knit themselves together as her jaw clenched slightly. Once the fire stopped spewing, Lucy tucked the book into her belly and backed away a few steps. "This is getting serious. I'm gonna lead them outside!"

"But it could be more dangerous out there!" Michelle objected. However, Lucy spun on her heel and held the book aloft.

"Is this what you're after?! Come and get it! I double dare ya!" she declared before she turned and ran towards a smoking hole in the wall. Laxus turned towards the man, ready to use his own physical size to keep the young knight away from his Mate.

"Ka-pow!" Dan yelled, hurling his spear towards the blonde female.

"Big Sister!" Michelle cried as she lunged forward, grabbing onto Lucy and yanking her back, just narrowly avoiding getting speared through as the weapon embedded itself in the floor.

"Such beauty!" The phrase caught everyone by surprise but when they turned towards where Dan had been standing a mere moment before, they found the place vacant save for Samuel. "Ka-pow!" Lucy jumped and looked straight ahead again, realizing Dan was somehow right in front of her without any of them noticing.

"What?" Lucy squeaked, Michelle holding onto her tightly around the middle. Dan practically threw himself face-down onto the floor and began banging his fists on the carpet.

"Such incredible beauty! It's as if love's arrow shot me straight through the heart but it just keeps beating stronger and stronger! It's almost too much for me to handle, but I can't get enough!" Everyone stood stunned, until Dan took hold of Lucy's hand and began shaking it, asking for her name and continuing to spout off nonsense about love and various nicknames. Laxus' Inner Dragon roared louder than it ever had before, making him almost feel like his skull was vibrating from the sound. A wave of possessiveness washed through him as Dan noted things about Lucy like her hair, her eyes, her chest, her waist, and her legs. The blonde Dragon Slayer popped his knuckles as he slowly approached the other male, the young knight completely ignorant to the other's approach. Laxus' Inner Dragon was demanding to be permitted to rip the fool apart for even looking in Lucy's general direction, let alone getting as close as he was.

Laxus heard something clank and he paused in his movements to glance over his shoulder. The flash of red hair immediately had him lunging at Lucy and Michelle, pulling them away from Dan as Erza launched a spear at him. The young knight leapt out of the way.

"Stay back! No one comes between me and my love!" Dan declared. Laxus felt Lucy shudder in his arms and let out a snarl as he pulled her and Michelle to their feet.

"You two make a break for it! They must not get their hands on that book!" Erza barked. "As for the rest of you, cover the girls while they escape!"

"Uh…I just blanked out," Wendy admitted.

"That craziness was a little overwhelming honestly," Gray agreed.

"Well, your ego seems to be extremely healthy," Samuel chuckled.

"You shouldn't underestimate us," Dan agreed. Laxus pulled Lucy behind him, glancing at the destroyed doors with a snarl.

"Where the hell is Sonya?! She should've heard all that!" he growled internally as he slowly began pushing Lucy back.

"Let me beat up this jerk," Natsu growled.

"Your job here is to keep Lucy safe. So get moving now!" Erza demanded.

"Let's go!" Lucy yelled, turning and pulling Michelle along after her as the group headed towards the door.

"I wanna finish talking to you!" Dan objected, only to get cut off by Erza attacking him, the resulting attack from the shield causing the library doorway to collapse.

"Damnit! Where the hell is Sonya right now!?" Laxus growled.

 

Sonya let out a sigh as she finally plopped down in a corner of a hedge maze. Once she was seated comfortably, she closed her eyes and closed her eyes, trying to remember what she'd seen in that swirl of color.

Slowly, scaly lizard-like bodies with sharp teeth came to the forefront of her mind, red collars with spikes around their necks, followed by the image of green grass stretching as far as the eye could see under a bright blue sky with someone standing not too far away, waiting for her to catch up. Sonya's eyes snapped open as a hot tear streaked down her cheek. She wiped at the wetness and looked at her fingers.

"I'm crying?" she asked quietly as a sudden weight settled in her heart and more tears began to streak her cheeks. "What the heck?"

Suddenly, a massive BOOM shook the ground and Sonya leapt to her feet, running back towards the house.

 

A loud BOOM shook the entire house and Laxus grabbed Lucy, pulling her into his side as he checked over his shoulder.

"What the heck was that?" Gray asked.

"I hope Erza's okay," Wendy whimpered as she inched away from where the sound had come from.

"Me too," Natsu growled, still miffed about being made to leave a perfectly good fight.

"Come on, we need to hurry!" Michelle said, gripping Lucy's hand tightly. The other blonde woman nodded and turned to lead them down the hall, only to freeze in her tracks to see Samuel floating in front of them.

"When did you get there?!" she demanded.

"Just in time, I'd say. I simply had to calculate how you in your panicked state would move through this floor plan."

"Lights out, cat," Laxus growled as he shot towards the Exceed. Samuel just managed to dodge Laxus' lightning-covered fist as Dan suddenly appeared and launched himself at Laxus, jabbing the spear into the blonde male's side.

"Laxus!" Lucy screamed, taking a few steps towards him before Michelle's grip on her hand stopped her. The massive male's body went flying through the window and out to the yard.

"That's it!" Gray growled, slamming his hands together.

"How dare you hurt him!" Wendy yelled, her ears turning pink as the wind around her picked up, causing her hair and loose clothing to flutter around. A large groan filled the house before the wall beside the group collapsed, throwing Erza and a collection of gigantic books into the hall.

 

Sonya looked up as an upper-level window shattered. Her eyes widened as she recognized Laxus' coat falling among the glass shards.

Without thinking, she took off at her top speed, heading right for the wall of the house, managing to get off the ground a few feet before shoving off the wall. A silver Magic Circle with a star in the center appeared beneath her feet and her body glowed silver. Before she could even blink, the coat was in her face, blocking her view and immediately her stomach leapt into her throat as she began to fall. Sonya managed to yank the edge down enough in order to see herself heading towards the ground. She barely managed to turn her fall into a summersault and come to a sliding stop in the grass of the yard.

"Laxus?!" she yelled, looking around, holding the coat in her hand. She stood up and looked around for the blonde male. A slight tugging on the front of her shirt made her pause and look down. Sticking out of the collar of her shirt was a tiny pair of black-clad legs, a sliver of purple above them and black shoes that were kicking wildly and the collar of her shirt had been pulled down low enough to reveal the top of her barely-there cleavage. Her eyes widened as she hooked a fingernail under the belt and pulled gently.

A scream tore itself out of her throat as she held up a shrunken Laxus, making the male cringe and cover his ears.

"Can you please not do that!" he barked, the tiny state he'd been reduced to causing his voice to come across more like a squeak.

"Sorry...But...you're tiny. And you were in my shirt..." Sonya stated, still somewhat dumbstruck by what she was seeing. The tips of Laxus' ears went pink and he shook his head quickly.

"Sonya! Did you see where Laxus went?!" Lucy yelled as she and Michelle came out of the house, running right at them. Sonya turned around, holding Laxus a little higher with one hand under in case he slipped off her fingernail.

"Yea...I got him," she said. Lucy froze right in front of them and stared, eyes wide and jaw dropped.

"What the heck?!" she cried, making the man cringe and cover his ears.

"By now, even you should've realized that escape is impossible," Samuel boasted as he floated over to the group.

"What the heck have you guys done to Laxus?!" the blonde Celestial Wizard demanded as she took the male into her gentle hold.

"Those gorgeous lips are asking the wrong person," Dan said as he landed in the grass, swinging his spear around. "My weapon is Habiki, a spear that can change your size."

"So kindly hand over the book and we can be done with this unpleasantness," Samuel instructed as he landed on Dan's shoulder. "Mary has such a heavy-handed means of dealing with these kinds of situations. I much prefer a more intellectual solution." Sonya yanked her knife from its sheath and placed herself between Lucy and the members of the Legion Platoon.

"Happy! Grab the book and get out of here!" Lucy screamed, flinging the book into the air. The blue Exceed shot into the air, catching the dark-colored book in his paws.

"Aye sir!" he cheered as he began flying away. Dan opened his mouth to object, only to move away suddenly as Sonya jabbed her knife at him, just shearing a few hairs from the side of his head. Her eyes were blazing as she growled and slammed her elbow into his head, sending him rolling.

"So simple-minded," Samuel sighed as he appeared beside Michelle and flipped her skirt up, pulling Key of the Starry Heavens from the layers and layers of ruffled lace. "This is the one we want." He flew back into the air as he opened the book and began reading as Michelle glared at him, her cheeks bright red in embarrassment and tears barely clinging to her lashes.

"How did he know?!" Lucy cried as Sonya leapt away from Dan's jab at her middle.

"I've considered every possible outcome and have made plans for each one of them. Which means I will forever be a thousand steps ahead of you," the Exceed said as he shut the book. Sonya snarled and pulled in a breath.

"CELESTIAL DRAGON ROAR!" she bellowed, aiming at the green-tinted cat. Right at that moment, Erza, Gray and Wendy all attacked from the second story of the house. Dan stepped between Samuel and the oncoming attacks, putting Ricochet in front of himself. The fawn-haired Wizard's eyes widened as she realized what was happening. She leapt and tackled Lucy and Michelle onto the ground as the attack bounced off the shield and shot back at the attackers.

Once the dust cleared, Sonya looked back up and growled upon seeing they'd left the book behind but otherwise there was no sign of them.

It took a few moments for everyone to regroup on the front lawn again and Sonya to remind Erza that Laxus was still in charge, despite his current size. Natsu couldn't stop laughing at the Lightning Dragon Slayer, earning him a few good shocks of electricity.

"So what are we going to do now?" Michelle asked.

"I think we should head back to the Guild. See if anyone knows how to remove the spell on Laxus, and then take a look at this book," Lucy said as she held up the novel in question. Sonya took a wary step back, drawing the blonde's attention. "You okay Sonya?"

"Yea. No problem. Don't worry," the brunette said with a shrug. Lucy bit her lip. She could see evidence that Sonya had been crying on the girl's face but decided to not push the issue. They had to get home and figure some stuff out.

 

Rose leaned back in her chair, glaring at the files before her. The Oracion Seis looked back at her from their mugshots, almost as if they were mocking her.

Brain and Hoteye, or as she'd known them, Bartholomew and Richard, had been model prisoners since their incarceration. Cobra, Angel, Midnight and Racer, or Erik, Sorano, Macbeth and Sawyer to Rose, had attempted to escape prison six times before and the records stated all were still incarcerated. Aside from that, the only things that really came up in the files were any reading materials they requested. Erik's list of books was mostly filled with music theory, various fields of science and medicine, language and a rare appearance of a piece of mystery or romantic fiction, although all his choices were made within the first year of his incarceration.

She couldn't deny that it puzzled her what he must've done in his cell the rest of the time if he was not reading. But the number of books he'd read and studied within a single year made her gawk. She'd known Erik had a real hunger for knowledge and had he been able to study to his heart's content, he probably would've been one of the greatest minds Fiore knew this century. Despite the dyslexia their daughter had inherited from the man, Rose could clearly remember how he'd devour any and all books he could get his hands on as if he were a wolf when they were younger. The thought made her smile yet also want to cry.

Brain had gone out of his way to ensure all the children he took under his wing could at least read to some degree, but had restricted their access to knowledge. Rose remembered asking about the matter at some point as a child and she could recall how Bartholomew had looked at her with teary eyes and explained his actions as those of an old man with very little money. How it had broken his heart when he discovered Erik's love of learning and realized he had no means by which to get the boy a proper education.

The words and actions of a liar. Now that Rose looked over everything, Brain had more than enough money coming from Dark Guilds to provide the honor of being under the protection of the Oracion Seis, he could've more than afforded to send all the children in his care to the finest learning institutions in the world, retire, live comfortably in luxury for the rest of his days and still have fortune left over, more than anyone may know what to do with.

There were records that a priest from Zentopia would come by on a regular basis to hear confessions and assist them in attaining their atonement. However, looking over the list of things Brain had made the Seis do, atonement was not something that man would ever attain.

Rose's eyes wandered over Erik's file as well. He'd been listed as Brain's most trusted warrior and had the most murders to his name of the Seis. A part of her was glad that the Counsel had never been able to find Cubelios, meaning the massive snake was out there somewhere and just needed to be found.

The sound of wood on wood made Rose avert her attention to Bickslow's totems as they went hopping around, performing flips and other such tricks. Pupu skidded to a stop near the files and Rose couldn't help but bite her lip. These totems were the souls of Bickslow's family; his parents, his younger siblings. Robbed by a Dark Guild of the most precious things they could possibly possess; their lives.

According to the records, Erik had dozens of murders under his belt, and those were only the ones that had evidence pointing towards him, meaning there could be dozens more where there wasn't evidence.

Rose looked up at Bickslow, who was sound asleep on the tabletop. If what she suspected was real, and Bickslow was a part of hers and Erik's Pack, how would he take the knowledge that Erik had blood on his hands? She herself didn't know what to think of it all.

"Miss?" Rose turned to see a frog approaching, bearing no books, meaning they were a messenger.

"What is it?" she asked.

"There's a call on the communication lacrimas for you."

"From who?"

"Your brother, a Mr. Laxus Dreyar." Rose smiled as she nodded.

"Yes. Bring it here, will you?"

"Yes ma'am." Rose stood up as Bickslow started stirring.

"W'as up?" he yawned.

"Laxus is calling," Rose informed as the frog returned with a communications lacrima. Rose touched the base and channeled a small amount of power into it.

"Mommy!" Lexi's beaming face came into focus within the crystal and Rose chuckled.

"Hey sweetie! How's your time with Uncle Laxus?"

"It's awesome! But we might have a little problem…" Rose arched an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by 'problem'?" Lexi held up one hand, revealing Laxus' shrunken state to his sister. The woman's jaw dropped and after a second, Bickslow burst into laughter.

"This isn't funny, Bicks!" Laxus barked as the Seith Wizard doubled over onto the table.

"No! It's hilarious!" Rose blinked a few times before shaking her head and looking at the lacrima again.

"How did this happen?!"

"A little run-in by a shield called Ricochet and a spear called Habiki," Laxus explained. Rose's eyes widened slightly. She'd heard of those weapons only a handful of times as a Knight. But she'd thought them mere myth and legend.

"The issue is, we haven't the slightest how to reverse the effects," Sonya said as she appeared on the crystal. "We thought you might know of something." 

"Maybe…" Rose mused, tapping her fingernail on the table as thoughts raced through her mind. "The Rune Knights have a place. Its called the Library of Sorcery. It holds countless texts on every form of Magic ever practiced." Rose saw Sonya's expression perk up a little at the little fact.

"Where would we find it?" she asked. Rose pulled a map of Fiore over to the crystal and pointed at a mountain range near the southern coast, where two rivers became one and ran to the sea.

"Right here. Near the Southern Mountains." Sonya's face seemed to pale at the mention of the mountains and Rose raised a curious brow. "What's wrong?"

"Draco told me about those mountains. There's five peaks that stretch to the same height over all the others and because of that, and the fact that no one's returned from those mountains once they go into them, they're called Death's Hand." 

"I'd never heard of that," Rose said with a shrug, looking at Bickslow. Sonya nodded and turned and walked away, looking as if she were thinking on something very complicated. Lexi set her uncle down and smiled at her mother.

"I miss you Mommy," the little redhead said. Rose smiled and ran a hand over the crystal, tracing her daughter's cheek.

"I know sweetie. Mommy misses you too. But I won't be here much longer, okay? Just a few more days." Lexi nodded and blew a kiss as the crystal, Rose returning the gesture with one of her own. "I love you my little pumpkin."

"I love you too Mommy." With that, the crystal cut out and Rose let out a miserable sigh.

"Now I really miss my baby," she groaned, looking back at her books. Bickslow began laughing again.

"Did you see how small your brother was?!" he cackled, holding onto his stomach. Rose smiled and let out a chuckle before shaking her head.

"I saw, I saw. Now help me out with this already," she said, pointing at the books.

"Yes ma'am!" the Seith Wizard said with a salute before he began reading.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group heads out in search for the other clock pieces and Sonya starts remembering some things from her past.

"Oh my!" Mirajane squealed as Rai took a seat on a table, Laxus perched on top of his head. "Can he stay like this?"

"Get serious," Cana snapped, earning a grateful smile from Sonya as she shifted her grip on Erika and the baby snuggled into her hold. Lucy was seated at the bar, looking over every inch of the book in case she'd missed something. Michelle stood nearby her with Gray leaning on the bar, sipping at a drink. Wendy was sitting at the table with Sonya and Lexi, while Erza and Natsu were upstairs in the office with Makarov, having been called there upon the old man's hearing of Sonya's complaints against the two.

"Isn't that getting uncomfortable, Rai?" Happy asked, looking at where Laxus sat.

"Not at all," Rai stated simply as he slowly laid down. "And even if it were, I swore to fight beside him and I failed when he needed me. Therefore I consider this my penance."

"Speaking of, where did you go?" Sonya asked. "You practically vanished when we got to the house so I figured you were probably keeping an eye on the outside. But when we got out there, it took you a while to show up." Rai let out a slow sigh.

"Yes. I was outside when this all happened. However, it is part of a mission I was given by Queen Shagote upon the Exceeds' arrival to Earthland. She heard of Dark Guilds and the atrocities they commit. So she gave me the order to seek out any Exceed children who'd been taken in by such people and if they were beyond help, put them out of their misery. I thought I smelled an Exceed and by the description of this Samuel person, I would conclude that he is indeed one of the 100 eggs Queen Shagote sent here thirteen years ago," the lion-like Exceed explained.

"You were basically sent out to kill kids who'd happened to have hatched in or near Dark Guilds?" Sonya asked.

"I was asked to find those who were being led astray and attempt to rehabilitate them to live in society. But if I could not, I was asked to kill them to ensure the safety of others. I was doing that very mission when Jose Porla found me."

"I see," Sonya sighed as she looked down sadly at Erika. Gray came over and pinched the back of Laxus' shirt before picking the blonde up to be eye-to-eye with the Ice-Make Wizard.

"What Fullbuster?"

"You excited Max?" Gray called over his shoulder, earning a curious look from both the Sand Wizard, Sonya and Laxus. "This is your chance to open up shop again. Laxus never had a figurine if I remember correctly and now he comes with his Exceed." Lexi looked at Sonya, somewhat confused as Laxus let out a growl at the dark-haired Wizard. Without a word, he covered a fist in lightning and landed a punch to Gray's fingers, making him release the blonde. Rai caught him on top of his head and the blonde glared at Gray.

"Do I look like some kind of collectible?!" he snapped.

"Yep, complete with lightning bolt action!" Happy snickered.

"Mind yourself, Happy," Rai snarled, the hair on his flanks rising as he hissed at the other male.

"Would you all pipe down?! I'm trying to think!" Lucy snapped over her shoulder before turning to stare at the cover of the book again. A sense of unease settled in Sonya's belly like a lead weight and she adjusted her hold on Erika again.

"Will Uncle Laxus return to normal soon?" Lexi asked.

"Hopefully sweetie," Sonya said with a slight smile. "But I can't say for certain. I would say we'll need to check out the library your mother talked about."

"But it's near those scary mountains!" Lexi objected.

"Plenty of things in life are gonna scare ya, and there's gonna be plenty of places that have scary-sounding names. But sometimes you gotta get over that fear and take the objective head on, sweetheart," Sonya said with a sigh.

"So what's the plan?" Gray asked.

"I haven't a clue, honestly! Right now, I'm feeling like we're juggling…what…five different problems right now? Between this Legion Platoon, Laxus' height, Erza and her issues, Natsu's problem and the fact that you, he and she still cause unbelievable damages on your jobs to the extent that the Guild's starting to go down the pipe again, I can't think of the first thing to address!"

"Hold on a second, are you seriously holding me responsible for the flame-brain's inability to control himself?!" Gray barked.

"Considering some of the paperwork I've seen involves innocent people getting trapped in your ice to getting frostbite from it, I think we can exclude Natsu from this for once!" Sonya snapped right back.

"Quiet!" Lexi yelled, drawing the attention of the assembled Wizards. The child had covered her ears and was glaring at the two Wizards across the table. "Shit, I can barely hear myself think! I don't know how Lucy's doing it!"

"Actually, I think I got an idea that might help…most of our problems," Lucy said as she hopped off her stool, a grin on her face.

"How?" Sonya asked.

"Well I heard you guys mention that library Rose talked about and I remembered something I realized when I was little." Lucy opened the book to a certain page and pointed at the picture. The image depicted a little blonde girl standing in front of a tower of massive dark stones.

"Sorry but what are we looking at?" Gray asked as Sonya looked at the picture.

"Is that a mountain range in the background?" the brunette asked.

"Yep! But the thing is, this is a real mountain range, namely the Southern Fiore Mountain Range. My mom showed me pictures of it when I was little and she went on a business trip," Lucy replied cheerfully. "And it just so happens that the picture she showed me was reverse of this in the book."

"So…you think that this building is real…" Sonya breathed, the gears in her own head turning.

"I figured the other places in the book must be as well!"

"And how does this solve our other problems?" the brunette asked.

"Well, the Legion Platoon is probably after the other clock pieces as well, and if they're hidden in these places, then we'll need to check them out. Since this library is one of the places, I bet we can figure out this Ricochet spear spell thing. And if we separate Gray, Erza and Natsu they won't cause damage like usual but keeping Erza and Natsu with someone who can handle them will keep them under control. Gray tends to behave fairly well when they're not around," Lucy finished with a smile.

"Thank you," the Ice Make Wizard said with a smirk towards Sonya.

"If you manage to control yourself without them around, then stop going on jobs with them. Maybe then you wouldn't get yelled at by the Master so often and could afford some pants. Speaking of," the brunette snapped before pointing down. Gray looked down. Sure enough, his pants were gone.

"When did that happen?!"

"Pervert!" Lexi cried, covering her eyes. The Ice Make Wizard ran off to find his discarded clothing and Sonya shook her head.

"I'm starting to get a headache," she sighed as she sat down. Lucy placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

"So how did you figure all this out with the clock pieces and places?" Laxus asked. Lucy, Sonya and Lexi all gave him raised-brow looks. "What?"

"Have you never read the story?" Lexi asked.

"Uh no. Why? What am I missing here?" Sonya let out a light groan and massaged her temple.

"The Key of the Starry Heavens is a story about a little girl who goes in search of six keys that are supposed to bring happiness when they're all collected," Lexi reported.

"Oh that sounds like a nice story."

"But by finding her happiness, the girl brings misfortune to everyone around her," the redhead finished. The shrunken male slowly blinked a few times.

"And this is a children's book?"

"There's a lot of fucked-up in children's stories," Sonya said with a shrug.

"And the first mention of the keys is about how the first key takes a journey," Lucy explained, flipping to the page and showing it to her Mate.

"So wait a second. If these keys mean the clock pieces…"

"And his gears are turning," Sonya chuckled.

"What're ya talking about?" Gray asked as he pulled his pants on.

"Michelle carried the clock hand all the way to Fairy Tail. Or in other words, it took a journey."

"Okay…" Sonya said slowly, biting at her bottom lip. "So you think your dad knew about the other pieces of the clock and…what? Hid them in those places or figured they're already hidden there?"

"Yea, that's exactly it," Lucy said with a nod of certainty.

"Did Jude ever mention anything like this Michelle?" Sonya asked, making the girl jump slightly.

"Uh…No. Sorry. Mr. Jude was very quiet before he passed away," she choked out as her bottom lip quivered.

"In any case, I'm sure if we go to these places, we'll find the other clock pieces. I don't know what the Legion Platoon wants with them but if the chaos thing mentioned on the clock hand is real, we can't just let them do as they please!" Lucy pressed. "I'll go with or without all of you!"

"Hold on a second Lucy," Laxus said as he hopped off Rai's head and landed on the table.

"No one's saying that's not the case. But I don't think we should just rush into all this," Sonya spoke up.

"But I know Master won't approve. And this situation seriously bothers me and we need to stop this chaos thing from happening," the golden blonde argued.

"You don't know for certain what the old coot's going to say about this. You make a pretty valid argument and I'm certain he'll want to keep this whole chaos thing at bay but we can't just rush into all this," the Alpha countered.

"For one thing, we need to know our numbers for this and how the best teams should be chosen if we're going to five different places. On top of that, most of our heaviest hitters are currently on jobs. And Rose and the Thunder Legion are still with the Council," Sonya stated.

"True. And I'm not certain many here are strong enough to keep either Natsu or Erza in line. Rose is the only one I've seen capable of doing it without encouraging another averse behavior," Laxus added, shooting a glare at Mira.

"What about you?" Lucy asked.

"Lightning Empress Armor," the two Dragon Slayers retorted at the same time.

"Ah, right," Lucy said with a nod.

"But…" Sonya said as she reached for her pouch and pulled out her Keys. "Erza's never been up against myself for a fight. And I've got Leona, Summer, Snowbelle, and the Arrow, not to mention Hydra, Indus and Perseus. So I think I can handle her on a trip."

"So that leaves Natsu. And I think even shrunken down to the size he is, Laxus can handle him just fine," Lucy said, grinning at her Alpha.

"Probably. Although I don't know for certain. I might just get him pumped up for a fight."

"I would feel better if it was Laxus keeping an eye on Natsu, honestly," Sonya agreed with a nod. "That is if Master allows us to go. What do you say old man?" Everyone turned around to see Makarov standing at the bottom of the stairs with a firm look on his face, nodding as he hummed thoughtfully. Erza and Natsu followed behind him.

"How long have you been there Master?" Lucy asked.

"Long enough. Personally, this situation relies on too much guesswork. But that said, we must do what we can to keep this chaos at bay," the old Wizard said as he approached the table.

"I'll take charge of assigning teams," Erza said, stepping forward.

"Over my dead body you will," Sonya snapped, earning her a heated brown glare, which she returned with equal fervor.

"Well then how about you both pick teams?" Makarov suggested as a compromise.

"Like that'll happen," Sonya said before spitting at Erza's feet.

"We'll have one team of two, one team of three, two teams of four, one team of seven. And teams that have been dissolved are not allowed to have more than three members in a single group," Makarov said, looking around the Guild. "We'll start with the team of seven. Sonya, you pick first."

"Lucy."

"Erza, your turn to select a member," Makarov said gently.

"Natsu." Sonya let out a huff and rolled her eyes.

"Laxus," she retorted sharply.

"That's two members of the former Team Natsu, only one more can be chosen," Makarov reminded.

"Then it's Happy!" Natsu declared, earning him a glare from Erza and a cheer from the blue Exceed. "We're partners so we gotta stick together Gramps."

"Good point. Erza, you still get to choose but neither you nor Gray may accompany them on this mission," Makarov stated with a smile. Laxus couldn't help a smirk.

"Then I say Rai comes with us too," Laxus stated, leaning against his Exceed's side.

"Then that makes five members for that team. Only two spots left," Makarov reminded.

"Fine then…" The redhead looked around the Guild before settling her eyes on a certain individual. "Romeo!" Sonya couldn't help her own smirk. She knew why Erza had chosen the younger Fire Wizard. Romeo had always looked up to Natsu since he'd brought his father back from Mt. Hakobe. However, Romeo had also grown up with Sonya for seven years, and the young man had proven himself to be like a brother by bond to the brunette Celestial Wizard through the years. If Sonya asked, he'd keep an eye on Lucy and prevent Natsu from doing any real harm.

"And for the final member…" Sonya looked around at the other Wizards. A soft hiccup caught her attention and she looked back towards the bar where Michelle still stood. The girl had turned away from the group, her hands folded in front of her as she prayed under her breath and sniffled every now and then. "Will be Michelle." The sandy blonde looked up with surprise and Sonya smiled.

"But I'm not a Wizard," Michelle stated softly.

"Doesn't matter. You're a part of this Michelle, and more than that, if you suddenly remember anything Jude may have said about these things, Lucy will want to be the first to know," Sonya said. "Plus, anyone can use a knife or such when they need to." With that, Sonya stood up, fished in her backpack and pulled out her bone-handle knife. Kinana came over and took Erika from the brunette before she went over to Michelle and offered her the knife. Michelle covered a slight gasp.

"But… you'll need it," she said.

"I have others I can use. But I'm trusting you with Lucy during this trip and you have no Magic Power. Therefore, I want you to take this and use it to protect her when I can't." Michelle gently wrapped her fingers around the sheath and pulled it to her chest, tears slipping down her cheeks.

"Thank you Sonya," she choked out. The brunette nodded and turned back to the other Wizards.

"Now for the four-man teams?" Makarov suggested.

"The first will include the members of Team ShadowGear," Erza stated with a smile.

"Now Erza, that's three members in one swoop," Makarov warned.

"Don't worry about it Master," Sonya said simply, shooting a glare at the redhead woman. "I'll just choose the Strauss siblings to make up the three-man team. I'm sure they can handle a mission together just as well, if not, more so than ShadowGear."

"Very well, but now Sonya, you choose the final member to accompany ShadowGear."

"But Master I-"

"You were the one who broke the rule of this Erza. There's consequences when you do that sort of thing and you knew it when you did it. And since you're objecting to it, Sonya will pick the first one for the second four-man team as well," Makarov said pointedly.

"Pantherlily will go with ShadowGear," the brunette stated simply. "And I'll select Wendy for the final four-man team."

"Then I select myself to go with her," Erza declared.

"So will I," Sonya snapped, glaring at the redhead.

"Which leaves the final member to go on the four-man team to be Erza's decision," Makarov stated, tugging on the end of his moustache.

"Cana," the redhead said with a smirk as if she'd won some great victory.

"Hold on a moment!" Carla screeched as she began hovering in the air. "First that tomcat and the one that walks on all fours, then Pantherlily but I'm expected to do what?! Remain here at home and tend to the garden, am I?! Or am I to prepare meals for when they return, launder their clothing, clean their domains?! I think not!" the white cat demanded, getting right into Makarov's face.

"No one's saying that Carla, but-"

"You've got attitude issues that need adjustments," Laxus snapped, Rai nodding his agreement.

"And you've got some height issues that need adjustments!" the white cat snapped. Rai was instantly on his feet, fur standing on end as he hissed at the female Exceed.

"Mind your tone young one! Another word like that and I'll be forced to claw your tongue out, out of principle!" he roared. Carla turned away with a haughty sound and crossed arms.

"I'll go with Wendy. And that's final."

"Very well then, welcome aboard," Erza said with a smile.

"Which just leaves Gray and Juvia for the two-man team!" Mira squealed. Sonya's eyes widened, mirroring Gray's look. Juvia, on the other hand, looked like a child for whom Christmas had come early.

"Wait a second-"

"Nope. Sorry my dear but that's that," Makarov said sternly. "No re-dos."

"Shit," Sonya snarled, smacking her thigh. She looked over at Gray with a remorseful look. While she didn't like him too much, she did feel bad that he was going to be trapped with Juvia for this trip.

"Now then, Lucy. You will decide where each team goes."

"Uh…Okay…Um…" Lucy began flipping through the pages. "Let's see. Sonya's group will go to the library, Gray and Juvia will go to the church ruins, Mira's group will head to the lake, ShadowGear and Lily will head to the mountain, and my group will go to the ancient city."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Sonya agreed. "The Southern Mountains are a half-day's journey by train but I don't think the Guild can afford that. But if we use Charioteer and drive through the night, we should be able to make it in about a day or so."

"Sounds good to me," Lucy said. "We can drop people off at certain places before continuing on and then all meet up in one location."

"I'll get us there tomorrow," Sonya said before she went over to Kinana and took Erika back into her arms. "In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can find some maps of the Southern Mountains that'll help us out. And…" The brunette Dragon Slayer sniffed and let out a gagging noise before heading towards the stairs. "I'm gonna change this baby girl's diaper. Ugh!" Some of the other Wizards let out a chuckle at the young woman's words, but Laxus and Lucy shared a look.

Both blondes had sensed something off with their Mate since the Heartfilia Mansion. Lucy had noticed on the train back that Sonya was unusually quiet and their usually lively link was likewise silent. Laxus had been unnerved when he couldn't sense anything from the brunette in the house and the unease hadn't settled during the ride home.

Lucy set her hand on the table, allowing Laxus to hop into her palm.

"I'm gonna help Sonya with those maps," the blonde Celestial Wizard said. "Michelle, you head home ahead of me, okay?"

"Oh…okay," the sandy-blonde said dejectedly. Lucy and Laxus headed up the stairs and saw that the door to Sonya and Kinana's room was cracked open.

The blonde female leaned against the wall to peer through the crack, a smile coming to her lips as she saw inside. Erika was squealing on her changing station as the brunette Celestial Wizard tickled her belly and swapped out her used diaper for a clean one, talking to the child in hushed tones. Once Erika was changed, Sonya laid her into her crib and Lucy took the opportunity to enter the room.

Sonya immediately snapped around and offered a small, tired smile to her Mates.

"What's up?" she asked as she plopped down on the couch, letting out a long, heavy sigh as she relaxed into the cushions.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea I'm fine. Just juggling some stuff is all," the brunette said as Lucy sat down beside her.

"Like what? How can we help?"

"It's not the kind of stuff you guys can really help with," Sonya sighed before she reached under the couch and pulled out a book. It looked new but at the same time, had dozens of colorful tabs sticking out of it.

"What's that?"

"My schoolwork. I take some night classes via lacrima right now and my midterms are going to be sent to me to take in…a month or so. So I'm trying to keep up with studying, caring for Erika, helping with the Guild-"

"And now this," Laxus sighed.

"No, no, that's not it," Sonya assured, despite sounding entirely exhausted. "Just…weird things…Visions I guess. I had at least two of them while we were at Heartfilia Mansion."

"Is that why you cried?" Lucy asked. Sonya shrugged.

"I don't know. I saw a vision and…it just makes no sense. It was just some person in a grassy field but for some reason…seeing them made me…heartbroken. I know, it sounds totally crazy. I can't even see their face but looking at them is just heartbreaking," she chuckled as tears lined the rims of her eyes.

"And the other one?" Laxus pressed.

"It wasn't really a vision. More just a picture I saw in one of the books in the cases that made my head hurt really bad. There was this phoenix flying into the air, but unlike my phoenix, it was entirely made of flames. Then beneath it was this person holding a Key with a dragon tattoo on their arm."

"I remember that book! It's called The Son of Fire. It's an old story about the son of a celestial being and a human maiden and how he was a kind prince for a number of years before he went mad," Lucy cheered.

"Back to your visions, Sonya," Laxus continued. "Did they ever include golden reptilian eyes?" The brunette arched an eyebrow at her Alpha.

"Any reason in particular?"

"Because I had a vision at the house too. Or…something like it. Half my face felt hot and…wet and on the other I could feel… I don't know. Cloth or something? Then I saw these golden eyes. But the thing is, it was your dragon tattoo that triggered it." Sonya let out a little hum.

"Well…The only thing I can really think of is…maybe some part of Zeupitoya is alive in the lacrima and she's trying to communicate with you? Maybe she's trying to tell you where she is? Or were the eyes looking at you?"

"They were looking right at me, I could almost see myself in them," Laxus replied. Sonya nodded, placing a thoughtful finger on her chin.

"That's…could it? Or am I mixing stuff up? Hold on." The brunette began counting on her fingertips, before she let out a sound of understanding. "If I have my numbers right, Zeupitoya would be young enough among Dragons to still be alive today. Although by human equivalence, she'd probably be nearing her fifties. So I suppose it is possible that you've had an experience where you've met her before."

"I can't say I've met any Dragons in my life. But I can say no woman I've ever met has had tattoos or a scar like the one you and I saw in our dreams, never mind eyes like hers."

"Wait a second, you two had the same dream?" Lucy asked.

"Yea. It wasn't us going through the Covenant Veil, Lucy," the brunette assured. "Some Packs do have experiences of shared dreams between members, especially if they'd been practicing their bond together a lot. But maybe…she's involved in a memory you don't want to remember?"

"Like I'm repressing the memory?"

"Maybe. You said half your face was hot and wet? Which side?"

"The one…with my scar," Laxus said, realization dawning on him. "You think she was involved in this?" he asked, pointing to his scar. Sonya shrugged.

"Usually if a Dragon chooses to embed a lacrima within a Slayer, they're nearby in order to ensure it aligned properly with the Slayer's Magic. If it didn't…let's just say the results were…gruesome."

"How gruesome?" Lucy asked.

"The Slayer would literally rip themselves apart in order to remove the lacrima."

"Wow," Laxus breathed.

"So either you are one in a hundred thousand, sweetheart, or Zeupitoya was there to ensure it went well."

"I think we should get those maps drawn up for everyone," Lucy said quickly as she stood and left the room with Laxus, leaving Sonya alone in the room with Erika. The Celestial Dragon Slayer let out a sigh as she rubbed her hands over her face. Her fingers tapped against her neck in a calculating manner for a couple of minutes before Lucy re-entered with the books in hand, Laxus perched on top of the pile.

The rest of the evening was spent pouring over the geography books and Key of the Starry Heavens for any clues regarding locations. It wasn't long before sleep overcame all three members of the Pack.

 

The first thing Laxus registered was the pain searing through his skull and the churning in his gut. He could feel himself pressed into the corner of two concrete walls. His hand reached out as if searching for something, only for panic to set in when he couldn't find anything. Laxus' eyes snapped open. On the floor in front of him was a clear imprint in dirt where another body had been, blood splattered near the head. 

"Freed! Where's Freed!" Laxus thought desperately. 

"How disappointing." Laxus' stomach churned at the condescending tone. He tried to move to see, only to find he couldn't move at all. His eyes shot to the furthest corner he could see through, but he could only see the edges of his father's boots. That was the instant Laxus remembered that his right eye was gone. 

Panic began rising in Laxus' chest. He had to get away! He had to find Freed! 

"Looks like that lacrima's not doing anything for you. Damn weakling!" Wind rushed out of Laxus' system as his father's foot connected with his stomach, making the blonde spit blood out onto the floor. He gasped for air before feeling his father grab him by the back of his neck and start dragging him across the floor. Laxus caught sight of a metal table and the panic rose further in his chest, his instincts screaming he run away, but he couldn't move! "You do indeed take too much after your damn mother."

"Mom?" That thought made Laxus pause for all of a second before he was thrown onto the table. He heard his shoulder crack and let out a scream of agony before his father strapped him down. 

"Well, this is why I have a backup," Ivan sighed as he picked up a scalpel. Laxus' breathing sped up but he felt he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. Ivan covered his face with a hand and Laxus began screaming as he felt the blade pressing into his skin again. 

"Ivan!" The dark-haired male jumped back and a blur of tan and gold streaked past Laxus' vision. He turned his head, and watched as a person wearing a long tan traveling cloak punched and kicked his father into the wall until the man fell limply to the floor. The figure nodded once and turned back to Laxus, hurrying once they saw him. 

Upon nearing, Laxus could make out the vaguely female figure under the cloak. She pulled back the hood, revealing long hair pulled back into a braid, streaks of silver accenting the gold color. There were slight lines at the corners of her eyes and lips, showing some age. Her jaw and nose were sharply angled and her eyes were shaped like almonds. The irises looked like molten gold with reptilian slivers of black making the pupils. 

She reached for him and Laxus began struggling against his bonds again. 

"Shh…Shhh…I'm not going to hurt you," she promised gently before placing her hand on his cheek. Her fingertips began rubbing soothing circles into his neck, the tips of her fingernails just scratching his skin. "Oh my poor boy." She pulled back the cloak and unsheathed a knife from her hip. Laxus watched as she cut the straps holding him down and the sheathed the blade again before pulling him onto her back. 

"F-Free-"

"Don't worry about your friend. My name's Zeupitoya and I'm going to get you to help. I promise I won't let Ivan harm you again," she assured before making her way out of the place Laxus had called home for as long as he could remember. She raced through the woods, somehow managing to keep Laxus from slipping despite the speed. 

Once she came to a stop, she set him down on the ground and pulled his head into her lap. She clicked her tongue as she traced the skin beside his right eye and cheek. 

"Oh my poor boy," she whispered. "I'm so sorry this happened to you. I should've taken you and your mother away when I had the chance." 

"Huh?" Zeupitoya smiled kindly at him before he heard and felt her tap on the lacrima, making him scream as pain raced through his skull. 

"Easy, easy," she whispered, holding him still as he kicked and swung at her with weakened arms, trying to get away. "I know it hurts but bear with me for a second." Instead of trying to touch his lacrima again, she looked over his body, taking stock of his weakened arms and legs, as well as the thin state of his torso and face. She examined his fingers and toes, the insides of his ears and nose before she pulled away with a growl. "Damn that son of a bitch." 

"Hm?" 

"Apparently, the lacrima's poisoning you, not helping you. So congrats, you're not the type of Dragon Slayer who'll rip themselves apart to get these damn rocks out. However, I can't remove it without it killing you." The woman took the edge of her cloak and stuffed it into his mouth. "This is gonna hurt like a bitch so bite the bullet kiddo." Before Laxus could do anything in response, Zeupitoya placed a hand on the right side of his face and pain surged through his skull, making him scream and thrash.

 

Laxus snapped awake and looked around wildly as he panted for air. The room was dark, Erika was sound asleep in her crib, and Kinana was in bed. Lexi was in Sonya's bed with Rai sleeping at the foot of her bed. Lucy was staring at him from where she'd fallen asleep on the bearskin rug. Sonya's little spot was empty though.

"Where did Sonya go?" Laxus asked quietly as his breathing and heart rate slowly returned to normal.

"I woke up to your yelling and thrashing," Lucy said as she sat up, also looking around. "So I don't know where she is." Laxus sniffed the air and immediately caught a whiff of smoke.

"Am I smelling smoke or am I crazy?" Lucy raised an eyebrow but sniffed as well and nodded.

"Yea, that's smoke." She went over to the window and looked around. "Looks like it's in the backyard. Wanna investigate?"

"Let's hope it's not more trouble," Laxus said as he hopped into Lucy's cupped hands.

"Knowing this Guild, it probably is," the blonde female sighed before she left the room. Slowly, she made her way down the stars and out the doors. The firelight illuminated parts of the yard, allowing for Lucy to walk towards the fire.

Once they made it to the corner of the building, Lucy tipped her head to the side as she saw Sonya kneeling before the fire, adding something from a dish every few seconds. Eagle feathers were tied at the end of her hair and she wore the necklace of grizzly claws Laxus had given her. Around the fire was a perimeter of stones and the nearby snow had melted, leaving mud and grass bare. Once the dish was empty, she set it to the side and began slowly dancing, her eyes closed in concentration and reverence.

The blondes watched as Sonya moved by the fire, spinning, kicking into the air, throwing her arms out like wings, even launching herself into the air to spin, sending mud flying as it clung to the bottom of her feet.

Lucy was transfixed by the brunette's movements, the amount of grace in the toned muscles giving the effect that the girl was flying over the grass and dirt. The firelight reflected in her midnight-colored eyes making them look equally dangerous and breathtaking. Each motion looked as though it was being dictated by the whims of the wind yet Lucy knew from personal experience how powerful those limbs were.

Laxus stared, jaw open slightly as Sonya continued to move, watching as with each step, each landing, each kick, the mud climbed higher and higher on her legs. The firelight reflected off the beads in her hair and cast shadows over her body that made the blonde male's eyes shoot from her legs to her stomach, to her chest and shoulders, to watch her arms as she'd throw them out, spreading her fingers as far as they'd go as if the appendages were wings about to take her into the skies.

Slowly, while at the same time all too soon, Sonya yanked her arms into her core, curling up into a ball before the fire, bowing her head as if in reverence. Lucy stepped out from behind the corner, her shoe crunching some snow as her weight pressed into it.

Immediately, Sonya was on her feet, turned around and ready to fight if needed. Her eyes widened slightly before she relaxed upon seeing her Mates walking towards her. Then her eyes widened in realization.

"How much did you see?!"

"Uh…Well…" Lucy bit her lip. She didn't know what to really say. Sonya looked more afraid than angry and a part of Lucy wanted to put the other woman's fears to rest.

"When we got here, there wasn't mud on your feet," Laxus said, his gaze flicking down to Sonya's mud-speckled legs. The brunette looked down and bit her lip. Mud completely covered her to her knees, turning to dense speckling that thinned the higher it went on her body. Even her arms and face bore spots of brown from all her spinning and kicking.

Sonya tugged on her braid a few times and let out a sigh.

"So what exactly was that?" Lucy asked. Sonya looked up slowly then her eyes shot back down to the ground, where she began tracing mindless designs into the mud with her toe.

"It… It was the Blessing Dance… Dragon Step."

"Huh?" Laxus said, looking to Lucy in confusion, who simply shrugged.

"The Blessing Dance. In the Dragon Step. You know how different parts of Fiore might have different ways of saying things, different dialects? Well, the Blessing Dance is similar. There's different steps, different versions. What I just did was what Draco taught me. It's supposed to bring luck and good fortune to travelers and warriors before they leave. I do it before I go on any job, before I go to the Games every year, before we'd go to Tenrou Island."

"And it works?" Lucy asked.

"Yea. I always complete my jobs and I always scored at the Games. But I only had enough time to do it this last time we went to Tenrou, the others were right after I'd finished jobs."

"And this a normal part of Dragon Slayer culture?" Laxus asked.

"Yea. Warriors would perform it before going to war, travelers and traders would do it before leaving, mothers might perform it before going into labor, but most often it was shamans who performed it on behalf of the tribe. It was meant to bring forth the most beneficial result of whatever was going on," the brunette explained. Lucy smiled and wrapped her free arm around Sonya, giving her a squeeze.

"It's a beautiful part of your culture," she said with a smile.

"It's yours too," she pointed out. "You're mine and Laxus' Mate. So Dragon Slayer culture applies to you as well."

"Then in that case, can you show me how to do it?" Lucy asked as she set Laxus down on the dish. Sonya's eyes widened. "And Laxus, you could learn too."

"You guys don't have to-"

"Nonsense," Lucy said, waving her hand. "This is a part of our culture, and I think we should learn what we can. Maybe when you go to the library, you can find more on Dragon Slayer culture and stuff like that." Sonya smiled and gave a shrug.

"I can show you the basics. The flips and jumps are a little more advanced and take practice."

"Then let's get started!" Lucy declared.

 

Rose sighed as she closed yet another book filled with valuable information that did not help her at that moment. However, heaven only knew when she'd require the use of Cardinal Mewith's writings on how hoarding the treasures of the world was actually beneficial in the grand scheme of everything Zentopia hoped to achieve. With a scowl and huff, she all but threw the book down onto the table, causing the other Thunder Legion members to jump.

"Another bullshit book?" Bickslow asked, trying to help calm her frustrations.

"Yep!" she hissed as she shoved the book away, letting it slide off the other side with a thunk that actually made her feel a little better. "This is proving to be nothing more than a waste of time!"

"We may yet find something," Freed said calmly, his nose practically buried in the tome he was reading using his wind-reader glasses. Rose sighed.

"Well, if you find anything with those fancy specs of yours, let me know," Rose said as she stood up and headed towards the exit. Bickslow looked at Freed and Evergreen, both completely focused on their books. The Seith Wizard hurried after the scarlet-tipped blonde as she stormed down the hall.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"To see something for myself!" she snapped, not looking back at him.

"To see what? Hold on a second," he said, jumping in her way. Rose glared and arched a brow although she did pause in walking. "What are you going to see?" Rose looked up and down the hall before pulling Bickslow close enough so she could whisper in his ear, not a difficult feat considering she was nearly 180 centimeters.

"The files on Erik and the others say they're still incarcerated. So I'm going to see what's there now and if it can be of any help in any way." Once she was done, she brushed past him, making the Seith Wizard hurry after her again.

"Hold on! As in check their cells?"

"Exactly."

"Do you even know their prison numbers?"

"Cobra of the Oracion Seis is Prisoner number 100977, so we'll start with him," she stated simply as she continued down the hall.

"Okay then," Bickslow said with a shrug.

 

The next morning was a chaotic mess of people, yelling and Magic being thrown every which way by a certain Fire Dragon Slayer. Sonya rolled her eyes and did her best to ignore Natsu as she harnessed the Little Horse to the Charioteer, which was serving as a wooden cart to draw less attention. The bay nickered as Sonya checked the straps again and gave a nod of approval.

"That ought to be good," she said as she patted the horse's flanks. Lucy smiled as she climbed into the driver's bench with Laxus perched on one shoulder and a bag of food. Tucked under the bench was another small bag of sugar cubes, apples and carrots for the horse to snack on while they traveled. "Okay! Time to get going people!" she called at the massive group of travelers.

Lucy was thankful she'd taken a seat early as Juvia claimed a corner of the wagon for her and Gray, despite the man's objections, Mira and her siblings took the other, Erza perched herself on the end so she could hold the handle for her own wagon of luggage, Natsu was placed across from her so he could vomit without it getting on anyone, Wendy and Romeo were seated between them with Carla and Happy in their lap and Cana sipping at a bottle of alcohol behind the young girl. Michelle climbed up into the bench with Lucy and Rai settled himself in the girl's lap.

"Hey, where's ShadowGear and Pantherlily?" Sonya asked as she seated herself on the horse's back.

"If I recall correctly, once they got their map, Pantherlily took them to travel on foot," Michelle spoke up. Sonya nodded in understanding and nudged the horse with her heels. The beast nickered and began pulling, only to whiney in protest as the wagon would not move.

"What's the matter?" Gray called.

"I think there's too much weight," Sonya called back. "Erza! Leave your luggage! We're only going to be gone three days at most so you don't need that much."

"I do need all this!" Erza insisted as she strode to the front, nearly stepping on Lucy's shoulder in order to elevate herself. "You horse is merely without the proper exercise and motivation. Perhaps I can be of assistance." Erza requipped into a cowgirl outfit, complete with a riding crop. Sonya's eyes practically blazed as the horse whinnied, nearly panicked.

"Try using that thing on my Spirit, and I'll redefine pain for you," she hissed, gently petting the horse's neck.

"Erza, really, you have an entire pocket dimension where you can store your stuff," Lucy said, trying to keep a problem from arising. "Can't you leave this stuff behind for just three days?"

"Impossible," the redhead stated flatly.

"What the heck is even in all that luggage?!" Sonya snapped.

"Essentials," Erza beamed, making the brunette pinch the bridge of her nose before she hopped off the horse.

"Forget you Scarlet," she hissed before storming over to the luggage.

"What are you doing?" Erza asked. Sonya pulled one suitcase from the pile and opened it, revealing tightly packed bags of sugar. Sonya blinked once before she opened another suitcase, this time revealing flour.

"What the hell Scarlet?!" she snapped, the tips of her ears turning pink in her frustration.

"Put those back!" Erza demanded.

"Not happening! If you want to carry around your personal kitchen pantry, you're gonna walk! I'm not making my Spirit kill himself trying to pull this bullshit around!"

"They're not bullshit. They're important, essential ingredients and food." Sonya rubbed her temples before she walked over to the woodpile beside the Guild. "What are you doing now?" Erza called. The brunette Celestial Wizard picked up the axe and stormed back over before slamming the edge of the blade onto the rope leading Erza's wagon to the Wizard.

"You're not gonna make my Spirit jump through ridiculous hoops for you! You want this shit on this trip, you carry it!" the enraged brunette snapped before she slammed the axe into a stump and took her seat on her horse, who nickered his thanks to her. She patted his neck before nudging his flanks. The horse began pulling and the wagon began moving, leaving Erza's luggage behind. The redhead leapt off the wagon and raced to her precious ingredients and began walking after the wagon. Sonya let out a sigh and shook her head as Lucy looked at her Mate.

"Hey Sonya, have you thought about what you're going to name some of your Spirits?" Lucy asked.

"I have, actually. For the fox, I was thinking something like Hercury, like the Trickster God of the Ancient Ruins, or Rusty for his color. For this guy, I was thinking something like Han, or maybe Cheveyo."

"I like Han," Lucy offered and the horse nickered before tossing his mane. Sonya chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Oh so you like it when Lucy says it but not me?" she teased, tugging on his mane slightly. The horse raspberried at the brunette on his back and Sonya echoed the sound. Lucy couldn't help but giggle at the interaction. "What about you Lucy? Thinking of naming your lizard something cute?"

"I was thinking something like Drogo to kinda honor Draco."

"Aw, that would be sweet," Sonya cooed.

"Get me off this stupid thing," Natsu groaned loudly as the wagon wheel went over a bump.

"And what about the River? Had any luck with them?"

"Not really. I can't really talk when they show up and I usually end up totally soaked." Sonya placed a thoughtful finger to her chin and hummed.

"Maybe there's something we're missing with summoning them," the brunette suggested as the edge of Magnolia came into view. The horse nickered and Sonya patted his neck. "Yes boy. Soon enough, you'll be able to go all out."

"What's that mean?" Michelle asked. Sonya smirked knowingly.

"You'll see. Hey Erza, try and keep up!" Sonya yelled over her shoulder as the town border passed under the wagon wheels.

"What?" The horse spirit threw his head and let out a high-pitched neigh as he pranced excitedly.

"Alright Han, now you can," Sonya said, patting his neck before gripping some hair at the base of his mane. Han drew up on his back hooves and whinnied loudly before lunging forward, yanking the wagon along as he ran at a near-breakneck speed. Erza ran after them, although Han quickly left her in the dust.

Sonya couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up from her chest as she watched the countryside race by. Michelle was screaming at she clung to Lucy, who was laughing right along with her Mate. Laxus had found himself pressed against Lucy's stomach as the speed sent him flying back, although he could sense the joy his Mates felt at the ride through their link. Wendy was standing upright in the wagon, laughing as the wind turned her twin ponytails into whips. Cana raised her bottle to the girl and took another long swig.

In a few hours, Sonya caught sight of mountains in the distance and tugged slightly on Han's mane.

"Easy boy," she said gently. Slowly, the horse slowed to a stop and Sonya looked back at Lucy. "What do you think?" she asked. Lucy opened Key of the Starry Heavens and nodded.

"Actually, if I had to say, we're just about where Will Neville must've been when he painted this picture," Lucy said, pointing at the picture in question that showed the back of the little girl as she looked at the mountains in the distance. Laxus looked from the picture to the reality in front of him and nodded his agreement.

"Here's a concern though," he voiced. "If Han was going at full speed and it took us a few hours to get here, how is Pantherlily expecting to get here just as quickly, if not, quicker?"

"I would believe he's relying on his Aera Magic, as well as Jet's High Speed," Rai stated pointedly.

"Good point," Laxus said with a shrug. "Although considering… the other guy's weight isn't that going to be problematic?"

"Let's pray it doesn't," Sonya said with a smile before she nudged Han's flanks again and he started walking slowly.

 

Levy let out a long sigh as she followed Pantherlily up the mountain path. Jet and Droy were lagging along behind her, the latter groaning about being hungry. The blue-haired girl pulled Lucy's map from her pocket and ran a finger over the southern mountain range, although Lily had taken them to the northern mountain range near Magnolia.

"Excuse me, Lily," she spoke up, unsure of the Exceed's plan. "I'm fairly certain we're in the wrong mountains." Pantherlily remained silent and Levy shoved down the urge to groan. It was tough enough that Gajeel wouldn't listen to her during the first part of the S-Class trials and now his cat wouldn't even acknowledge she'd spoken to him!

"Is it just me or is it kinda hard to tell what the little guy's thinking?" Jet asked.

"Yea, I know. But at least we know he's dependable," the blue-haired girl replied with a chuckle. A loud THUMP made the group stop and turn around in alarm, only to find Droy laid out on the ground, groaning. "Are you okay?!"

"Do I look okay? This stupid mountain… and this physique… don't mix… at all," he groaned. Jet snapped around to the little black Exceed leading them.

"Come on Pantherlily, don't you think we should get back on track? It's obvious the big guy can't take much more of this," he stated.

"We can't have Droy holding us back. If we really want to succeed, we need a powerful teammate," the former military captain reported.

"How mean."

"So who's this powerful teammate?" Levy asked. The Exceed smirked at her.

"A man with an iron will and an equally iron head." He laughed at his little joke and Levy felt her cheeks go a little pink as she realized he was talking about Gajeel.

"In that case we should hurry," she said quickly. "After all, we're in a race with the Legion Platoon so we need to find our clock piece first."

 

Han came to a stop and tossed his head as Sonya patted his flank and looked around. He'd come to a stop right at the shore of the second river on their map. Across this river was the southern mountain range.

"Good job buddy," she said as she dismounted and began unhitching him. "Everyone off! We'll make camp here for the night." Slowly, the rest of the group set up their tents and started a campfire. Sonya fed Han and sent him and Charioteer back as Lucy helped Michelle set up her tent. The blonde had decided she'd get Michelle settled in the tent she usually used on jobs but would stay with Laxus and Sonya for the night.

Once the fire was started, some extra wood collected and the tents pitched, Sonya shouldered her quiver and half-painted her face with some mud and dirt.

"What are you doing?" Lucy asked.

"I'm going to look around the area and see if I can find some fresh food. If I can't find meat, I know what plants and berries are safe, although I can't promise they'll taste great," she said with a chuckle.

"So long as it doesn't taste like wingfish!" Happy cheered. Sonya paused and gave the cat an odd look.

"What are you on about?"

"Wingfish. I've eaten them twice and they were the grossest thing I've ever tasted!"

"How soon did you eat them?" she asked.

"Within a few minutes of them being prepared," Happy responded. The brunette blinked and sighed, exasperated.

"No wonder, cat," she snapped. "Wingfish need to be hung by the lips for forty-eight hours before you try eating them. And that's if you want the bare minimum flavor. Leave them for five days would be best, right before they start going bad. You get the most flavor then. Seriously, do your research."

"And you have?" Happy asked. Sonya smirked.

"Of course. When I lived with Draco, wingfish were my primary source of nutrition. Honestly, my favorite food to eat when I'm sick is wingfish and chicken noodle soup." The Dragon Slayer licked her lips at the thought but shrugged. "Unfortunately, we'll probably have to make do with pork or something like that."

"Want some help?" Gray offered. Sonya's eyebrows arched and she shrugged again.

"Sure, why not."

"Love rival!" Juvia screamed, pointing at the Celestial Dragon Slayer.

"Shut up Juvia," the brunette snapped before turning to head into the nearby woods with Gray following behind. Lucy chuckled a little as she and Laxus slipped into Sonya's tent. The tent itself was made of animal skins with a bed of furs laid out in the middle. Laxus' signature coat was bundled up at the edge of the bed. Lucy sighed as she laid out on the bed, gently setting Laxus down beside her.

"This is nice," he commented as Lucy rubbed her cheek against a particularly soft mink fur.

"Definitely better than my sleeping bag," she said with a giggle. "I kinda feel bad for leaving Michelle in it."

"Don't," Laxus retorted flatly. Lucy giggled again before the flap opened and Juvia stormed in.

"Juvia-"

"How dare you!" the Water Wizard screeched. "You and Sonya have Laxus to fight over! How dare you send Sonya after my darling Gray!"

"I didn't send Sonya after anyone!" Lucy defended. "And she and I aren't fighting over Laxus! We're a Pack!"

"If that's the case, then why would she single him out to go hunting with her?! All she wants is to get him alone and convince him he's in love with her and not me!"

"It's not like that at all Juvia! Gray offered to go with her, Sonya accepted his company! She didn't single him out!"

"She did! Therefore she's a love rival! She'll have to pry him from my cold, dead hands before I'll give him up!"

"You talk about him like he's a possession," Laxus muttered.

"Sonya, please hurry back," Lucy mentally begged.

 

Rose stormed past the guards, Bickslow closely following behind her as she stepped onto a platform with a pedestal in front of her. Bickslow looked up at the floating cells above them. He could barely make out some of the figures in the cells, but could see some had books while others had bowls in their hands.

"Prisoner number 100977," Rose stated firmly. The floor beneath them glowed and Cobra's mugshot appeared on the pedestal as well as the prisoner numbers of the other Oracion Seis members. The platform broke away from the ground floor and floated up into the floating cells until it came to a stop in front of one, which he guessed was Cobra's.

The Seith Wizard looked and his eyes widened inside his visor. Seated inside was most definitely Lexi's father. They had the same red hair and similarly colored skin. The only big differences aside from gender and age was the fact that Cobra had one of his violet eyes sealed shut with a scar.

"This him?" Bickslow asked.

"I think," Rose stated slowly. The Seith Wizard looked at her and noted that her questioning gaze was locked on Cobra's blank one, which made him look back at the prisoner.

He only wore his prison-given clothes and aside from himself, his cell was totally empty. That made red flags go off in Bickslow's head immediately.

"Cobra!" he yelled, but received no reaction from the other male. Bickslow looked around quickly and seeing no guards around, pushed his visor up slightly to try seeing the man's soul.

Rose grit her teeth and gripped the pedestal tightly as Bickslow's eyes glowed lightly for a second before he slipped the visor back into place.

"Whatever that is, its not him," he said.

"What?" Rose hissed.

"That thing's got no soul. This isn't Cobra." A part of Rose was relieved but the rest of her nearly choked on the air she was trying to breathe. Pieces began coming together in her head. Macbeth, Sawyer, Sorano and Erik had all attempted escape a number of times over the years. Only Richard and Bartholomew hadn't.

Anger roared to life in her chest, making her fists clench and shake.

"Guard!" she roared, her voice echoing through the chamber. A frog-man appeared, practically trembling at the tone of her voice. "Get me Chief Marshal Lahar! I have to interrogate Brain of the Oracion Seis! And get someone to check all of these cells! The thing in the cell of prisoner number 100977 is made of Personification Magic!"

"Yes ma'am!" he croaked before hurrying off to obey her orders. The platform Rose and Bickslow were on went back to its original location and the scarlet-tipped blonde let out a snarl as she stormed out of the chamber.

"Hold up a second!" Bickslow called as he hurried after her.

"When I get my hands on that makeup-wearing, no good son of a bitch I'm gonna-"

"Rose."

"What!" she snapped, whirling around to face the Seith Wizard.

"Why do you need to talk to Brain? Can you get me on the same page here?" he asked.

"Midnight, Cobra, Angel and Racer have all attempted escape a number of times over the years. Brain and Hoteye haven't. If Midnight's in charge of this little operation like I think he is, then Brain's gonna know exactly what's going on. So I'm going to get answers."

"I'll come with you." Rose let out a snort.

"Sure you can handle it? I'm pretty damn pissed right now."

"Hey, I've been on a team with your brother for years. I think I can handle watching you interrogate someone," he replied with a smile. Rose shrugged.

"If you say so."

 

Sonya traced the bottom of a track and sniffed her fingertip.

"Smells like venison. And judging by the foliage around here, it was either one fat one, or a nice little herd." She felt a broken leaf, exposing a heap of dung under the greenery. She let out a little hum as she caught sight of a tiny sliver of steam rising off the pile. "Probably just a few minutes ago."

"How do you figure that?" Gray asked as he followed after her.

"Because that dung's still steaming fresh." Gray shuddered and followed after the girl as she knocked an arrow.

"So…this Pack thing you, Laxus and Lucy are part of."

"What about it?" Sonya whispered.

"What are the odds you've got it wrong about Lucy being part of it?"

"Nil," she hissed before pressing a finger to her lips. Gray slipped to her side and caught sight of a few deer grazing. Sonya pulled back her arrow and released. The Ice-Make Wizard watched as she launched another before the first hit its mark right through the eye of the biggest deer. A third and fourth arrow were launched and four bodies hit the ground.

"How did you do that?" he whispered.

"About fourteen years of practice," she said before she made her way to the animals, Gray close behind her. "But enough about dinner for now. Let me get this through your head. Lucy is a part of this Pack, and she won't be leaving. Laxus and I already have mental links with her. If you wanna bed her, its either going to be because you're the Omega of our Pack, which I highly doubt, or you rape her."

"I would never-"

"Dangerous final words," Sonya snapped. "Let me tell you something, the way you drag Juvia along with stuff seriously makes me worry about her, especially her mental state. If you won't do something to help her, I'll do something to the both of you and I promise you won't like what I do to you." With that, she pulled her arrow free of the first deer's eye and checked the tip. Gray gulped nervously as Sonya wiped the arrow on the ground and slipped it back into her quiver. "Help me get these back to camp will ya?"

"Right…Uh… Ice Make: Wagon!" An icy replica of a little red wagon appeared in front of them and Sonya immediately placed the deer on it.

"Let's get back to camp and get cooking," the brunette said as she grabbed the handle and began pulling. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Hm?"

"Keep your little crush on Lucy a secret, unless you want Laxus to turn you into a vegetable. Thank your lucky stars that he's a little dense when it comes to these situations, otherwise, I bet you'd be having your dinner spoon-fed to you by now," the Celestial Dragon Slayer growled. Gray grumbled under his breath as he followed the girl out of the woods but otherwise remained silent. "Don't go getting all pouty Fullbuster," Sonya called over her shoulder. "Just because it won't work out between you and Lucy doesn't mean you can't still be her friend or her brother by bond. Just don't ruin the chance that would work out."

"Like you really care," Gray snapped. Sonya snapped around with a glare that froze the young man in his tracks.

"Surprising as it may be, I do care about you Fullbuster. I don't trust you further than I could throw you but I do care about you, just like I care about Juvia and Erza and Natsu and Mira and every other crazy nut in this freaking Guild. We're supposed to be a family, but that doesn't mean you automatically get my trust nor does it mean I automatically like you. If you want my trust, you've got to earn it. You want me to like you, give me a reason to. But don't think that by getting near me, you'll automatically get to be near Lucy again. Do I make myself clear?" Gray let out a groan of a snarl as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yea, you're clear."

"Good. Now let's get going before these freeze over," Sonya said, tugging on the handle. Gray rolled his eyes but followed after the brunette, only to run into her back a few minutes later.

"What the heck?" Gray barked before noting Sonya's flaring nostrils and narrowing eyes. He'd spent enough time around Natsu to know she was smelling something. "What do you smell?"

"Someone's at camp," she said before launching herself towards the camp. Gray raced after her.

 

By the time Juvia left Laxus and Lucy alone both blondes were frustrated, and nearly hoarse from yelling at the Water Wizard.

Lucy laid back down on the furs and cuddled into the warmth the skins offered.

"That woman needs a straightjacket," Laxus growled.

"Imagine being me. She's been on my case about Gray since the whole Tower of Heaven thing," Lucy sighed.

"I seriously pity you for that." The Celestial Wizard let out a light chuckle and gently brought Laxus close enough for her to lightly nuzzle her cheek against him.

"At least now I've got you and Sonya to help me with her."

"A lot of help I was just now." Lucy sighed and nuzzled her cheek against him again.

"We'll get you back to normal size soon enough, hun. So don't worry, okay? And even if you don't return to normal-"

"Please don't patronize me and don't go down the route of if I'm stuck like this forever," Laxus said flatly. Lucy worried on her bottom lip until she heard the squeaking of a wagon.

"Hey, maybe that's Gray and Sonya with dinner," she said as she slipped out of the tent flap, her Alpha still in hand. But once she stepped out, she saw that it wasn't her Mate and Gray at all. But rather, it was Erza, panting and practically coated in dust, sweat and mud.

"Yo, Erza! Pop a squat!" Cana called from her place by the fire.

"First I must speak with Sonya. Where is she?"

"Getting dinner with Gray. Pop a squat, and you can talk to her when she gets back," the brunette Card Wizard said, patting the log next to her. Erza plopped down beside the drunk and glared at the woods as if they were at fault for everything that hadn't gone her way that day.

"Excuse me, might you be members of Fairy Tail?" The whole camp turned towards the rear of the camp, where the voice was coming from. Standing not too far off were four gentlemen dressed entirely in khaki from head to toe. The two taller members of the group wore hats of the same color.

"Yes sir, that's correct," Lucy answered as she stepped forward, carefully setting Laxus on her shoulder. "Is there something we can help you with?" The tallest of the group stepped forward. He looked to be a middle-aged man with a thick salt-and-pepper beard and moustache. He carried around what looked to be a compass in his hands.

"Actually we're members of a prestigious archeological society," he stated in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Okay. So you're archeologists then," the blonde female said with an understanding nod.

"Indeed, and we're here because we've heard word that Fairy Tail is searching for pieces of a legendary clock. Is this true?" asked one of the shorter men. He had white hair and brown eyes and was using a heavy-looking telescope like a cane.

"Excuse me, may I ask where you heard that?" Michelle asked as she stepped up beside Lucy.

"Now, now, I hardly think that matters missy," the second of the taller men said, stepping forward.

"So leaving it all to the rumor mill then," Laxus muttered under his breath. Michelle grabbed onto Lucy's arm and pulled her close.

"You don't think there could be a traitor in Fairy Tail, do you?" the sandy-blonde whispered.

"No way!" the blonde Wizard said, rather loudly.

"But the Legion Platoon's a secret part of the church, barely anyone even knows they even exist. I'm sure they wouldn't let word slip out. In that case…someone in the Guild must've talked about it."

"Like I said, Michelle, that's not what happened," Lucy said firmly, shooting a glare at the sandy blonde.

"I haven't gotten to know everybody in the Guild yet so I don't know what to think! So sorry!" Laxus turned back to the archeologists.

"You were saying?" he asked.

"Well actually, we'd very much appreciate it if you put a halt to this little endeavor of yours," the bearded man said. A part of Lucy figured he must be the leader of this little band.

"How come?" Lucy demanded.

"According to the data we've collected the pieces are scattered about in shrines, ruins and other abandoned sites. And if I'm not mistaken, your Guild is attempting to collect all of them, is that right?" asked the white-haired man.

"How could you possibly know that?" Lucy asked, an edge creeping into her voice.

"After years of studying Key of the Starry Heavens from an archeological standpoint, we now believe that there's more to the story than it would seem, understand?"

"Uh…not really. You mean the book itself?" Lucy asked.

"It's so simple!" the leader of the group shouted. "Let me spell it out! We have reason to believe that the book actually pinpoints several ancient archeological sites, such as ancient shrines and ruins that pepper the globe. You see, we actually believe the places the little girl travels to are actually modeled after these historic sites. And the ultimate goal of our archeological society is to ensure these sites are protected from harm. They're remnants of our cultural heritage and must be respected!"

"If you and your friends go prancing around in there all willy-nilly you could irreparably damage a piece of history," the white-haired man said.

"Therefore if you could be so kind as to forget about the clock, we would greatly appreciate it," the second of the taller men said.

"Actually, we insist that you forget about it," the leader pressed. Lucy placed a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow.

"You've gotta be kidding me. I figured that same conclusion out when I read the book as a little kid. I'm honestly surprised it took you so long." Laxus covered a chuckle as the archeologists gaped in shock at her.

"Oh wow, you're a lot smarter than you look Lucy," Happy said in awe.

"I'd shut up if I were you," she hissed.

"Listen to me! Please!" the leader yelled, getting into Lucy's face this time. "It's imperative that you forget about the clock!"

"I can't just forget about it!" Lucy snapped back, getting in the man's face as well and making him take a few steps back. "I understand the ruins are important! But I'm fulfilling my father's dying wish! My dad waited. For seven long years, he waited for me! He believed that I could keep the world from plunging into chaos! He left the task to me, his daughter and nobody else! That's why I can't forget because I don't want to let him down!" Lucy stomped on the ground with her final word, making Laxus nearly lose his balance on her shoulder.

"Easy Lucy," he said gently as he shifted slightly. Lucy took a couple steps back and wiped at the hot tears she felt in her eyes.

"Actually… you see… That was the most moving speech I've ever heard in my life!" the leader of the archeological group stated, his face practically alight and eyes filled with tears.

"It's so touching to see a youngster with such devotion to her family," the white-haired man said, also choking on tears.

"And so as a thank you." The leader moved and poked Laxus with a finger and just enough force to shove him off Lucy's shoulder.

"Laxus!" Lucy yelled as she spun around in an attempt to catch him. But upon catching sight of him, the golden blonde froze. The blonde male was back to regular size, splayed out on the snow.

"What was that for?" the male snarled, as he pushed himself to sit up.

"You're back to normal size!" Lucy cheered, throwing her arms around her Alpha's neck.

"Well, actually, we happen to know a little Magic ourselves," the leader of the group said with a slight bow before he and his group began walking away. "Lucy Heartfilia's story touched our hearts and inspired us so we returned you to normal! Think of it as a thank you on behalf of our society."

"Thank you too!" Lucy called, waving good-bye.

"We wish you luck on your journey! Our hearts go with you so stop at nothing and fulfill your father's last wish!" And with that, the group vanished into the night. Laxus stood up and pulled Lucy into his chest with a light snarl towards where the group had vanished.

"What is it, hun?"

"When did you tell them your last name?" he asked. The question made Lucy pause in confusion for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. She hadn't said her last name during that entire discussion. So how could they have known who she was?

"Is everyone okay?!" Everyone turned around to see Sonya and Gray appear from the woods, Sonya dragging a wagon of four large deer.

"Yea, we're fine!" Lucy called. Sonya pulled the deer over by the campfire and turned towards her Mates, freezing in her tracks upon seeing Laxus returned to his normal size.

"How-"

"Some people from an archeology society just stopped by, and then they turned Laxus back to normal," Lucy explained.

"I see," Sonya said, although she was still unclear on the whole matter. "And you feel alright Laxus?"

"Yea, I feel fine."

"Okay then. Um…I guess I'll make dinner then."

"Before that Sonya, we need to talk," Erza stated, standing up. Sonya glared at the redhead.

"No we don't. I told you to leave that luggage behind because we don't need it."

"I would say that we do. For man cannot survive on meat alone," Erza declared, grinning. Sonya's eyes narrowed and she pulled up a pouch from her belt.

"Surprisingly, you can find almost anything you need in nature. Like nuts and berries to go along with meat, or other edible plants. I collected some while tracking this so we have some options. But we're in for a long day tomorrow so we're gonna need the protein. So get off your damn high horse already, Scarlet," Sonya snapped, her blue eyes nearly blazing. "You wanna pack your own food, be my guest. But when my Spirit is struggling, I'm not subjecting them to torture just because you say so." Sonya summoned Leona to help her with skinning and gutting the deer.

"A little extra weight and a riding crop is hardly torture," the redhead countered as Sonya placed the meat on spits to roast over the fire. "It is-"

"Have you ever seen Lucy hit one of her Spirits?" Sonya snapped. "No. Never. And she would never use them as shields to take a hit for her. I'm the same way with my Spirits. They're my partners, they're the ones who raised me since before I can remember. So I'm not going to let you hit any of my Spirits, ever!"

"Horses are different-"

"Scarlet!" the brunette Celestial Wizad snapped around, her eyes blazing. "I'm telling you, as nicely as I can, to shut the hell up right now. You're not getting your way and I'm not going to cave on this matter. You won't make my Spirit work the way you want. If you want to have Spirits work like slaves for you, as a Celestial Wizard I would feel compelled to forcefully remove any and all Keys from your hand and destroy them myself." With that, the brunette stormed around the fire to stoke the flames and add some more wood.

"Hey Erza! Fight me!" Natsu challenged, racing forward. Everyone turned to watch as the pink-haired Wizard leapt at Erza, his fists flaming. Erza gasped, realizing she was still in regular clothes instead of armor.

"Requip!" Sonya's eyes widened as a sudden feeling of panic rose in her chest.

Before Natsu could even touch Erza, a fist came flying out of nowhere and the sound of his jaw practically shattering rang through the camp. Lucy looked over from her place by Laxus and gasped as she saw Natsu crumble into a heap with Sonya standing over him, her fist still shaking and her knuckles bleeding slightly. A thin trail of blood slipped down the girl's face from her nose.

Sonya watched as Natsu crumbled into a heap in front of her but she couldn't actually see him. All she could see in front of her was fire, she could hear screaming and flames crackling, even smell a stench she knew she'd never forget; burning human flesh.

A coppery taste filled her mouth and Sonya wiped at her face, smearing the blood on her upper lip and cheek. For whatever reason, her chest felt like a Vulcan was seated on it and she just couldn't pull enough air into her lungs.

Laxus slowly came over and placed a hand on Sonya's shoulder. Almost immediately, she smacked his hand away, but he could see her pupils dilating and constricting far too quickly to be healthy. Her breathing was normal but Laxus could practically taste the panic from her.

"Sonya, I'm not going to hurt you," he said gently, trying to keep his voice even as the brunette stumbled a little. Sonya wiped at the blood on her face again as Laxus placed his hands on her shoulders again.

"I don't feel so good," she said as the ground seemed to tilt to the side, taking her with it. Only Laxus' hands kept her upright.

"I'm certain you don't," he said softly as he scooped her up into his arms. "I'm going to take you to the tent, okay?" She nodded against his shoulder and he slowly started moving. Wendy hurried over and healed Natsu's jaw once the two Dragon Slayers slipped into the tent. Lucy looked around the tent, half afraid for Sonya's sake and half afraid that she might lash out again.

Slowly, the blonde made her way into the tent. It almost made her heart melt to see Laxus sitting in the middle of the tent, cross-legged with Sonya wrapped up in Laxus' coat, cradled against him. But the pale color of Sonya's skin and the fact she was trembling made Lucy want to hold the girl and cry.

"Sonya…" she said softly as she knelt down beside her Mates.

"She'll be alright. I think she just had a panic attack," Laxus explained.

"A panic attack?!" Lucy cried, earning her a harsh shushing from the Alpha.

"Yes, a panic attack. I don't know what triggered it but-"

"Burning," Sonya said timidly, earning her the attention of her Mates.

"What?"

"Erza was in her regular clothes, not armor. Clothes catch fire and burn. The idea of someone burning…" Sonya shuddered and Laxus tightened his grip on her shoulders.

"Okay, you don't have to say," he whispered gently. Sonya looked sadly at Lucy and bit her lip.

"It was my mother."

"Huh?" the blonde female asked.

"I don't know how I know. But…what I saw was my mother," Sonya explained.

"So you saw something…like another vision?" Laxus offered, earning him a nod from the brunette in his lap.

"My mother was burning. And I can't remember her face…" Sonya choked out before she started crying. Lucy immediately wrapped her arms around the other Celestial Wizard. Laxus carefully maneuvered them to lay down on the furs. He knew the others would be expecting answers, but those would need to wait. Sonya needed her Pack right then and his instincts were roaring for him to get her to stop crying.

But he had no idea how. She'd just had a panic attack that triggered a traumatic memory of her own mother's death. Laxus himself had bad memories of watching his mother waste away to nothing before the lacrima had been implanted in his head.

He couldn't imagine what Sonya may have seen as her mother burned to death. But the girl had been five or so when Draco took her in, meaning that she'd watched her mother burn to death before she was five years old!

Laxus wrapped one arm around the waists of his Mates and watched as Lucy pulled some furs from the edges of the bed over them to serve as blankets.

 

Rose watched from outside the room as Lahar talked to Brain. She knew this wasn't going to result in answers. She'd done the same thing Lahar was trying when she was younger and all she'd gotten were lies.

Lahar stepped out of the room and Rose nailed him with a glare.

"Well?"

"He knows nothing," Lahar reported.

"Bullshit he doesn't. If Midnight knew anything, Brain knew it first."

"If you want to try, please," Lahar said, gesturing towards the door.

"Then go take a walk," Rose snapped before she grabbed Bickslow's arm and pulled him into the room with her, slamming the door behind them. Lahar blinked and shook his head before he leaned against the window to watch. Rose glared as she locked the door and pulled the shades. Then she disabled the lacrima-camera watching them and the microphone that recorded them. Lahar began banging on the window. "We can speak freely now," she stated, sitting down.

"It's good to see you again Rose," Brain said. For almost half a second, Rose wanted to believe this man wasn't capable of the things his file said he'd done, of shooting the boy he'd raised in the back for one screw-up.

"I'm gonna be honest, I missed you Bartholomew," she said with a nod before nailing him with a stony glare. "If that even is your damn name. I ran into Erik, Sorano and Macbeth in the last few days."

"How wonderful. How have they been? These guards won't let me see anyone else." Rose bared her teeth.

"Erik told me you shot him in the back."

"An unfortunate result of his loss to a First-Generation Dragon Slayer." Rose immediately was on her feet, grabbed Brain by the shoulder and slammed his head onto the table.

"Now, I'm going to ask you some questions and if I don't like the answer I'm given, you're going to have a repeat experience of that." She looked at Bickslow and he gave a slight nod before pushing his visor up. Brain looked up, a trickle of blood running down from his lip. "Now, my Mate here is this little thing I like to call, 'Psychic'. If you lie to me, he'll know and he'll tell me."

"I remember when you children played games like this. You'd try pretending to know what the next person walking down the street was wearing," Brain said nostalgically.

"According to your files, you and Richard have been pretty much model prisoners since you got here. But the other members of the Oracion Seis have tried escaping multiple times. Now, I know what's in their cells are not them. They're made from Personification Magic. I want to know what you told Macbeth because they're blowing up churches with people still inside them." Brain smiled slightly.

"And you can't wait to get back to your little girl, can you?" Rose's eyes widened. "If I remember correctly, you named her Alexis Eurika Dreyar, to honor your brother and a mutation of your great-grandfather's name if I'm not mistaken." The mother's hands clenched. "And your father was so helpful in keeping Erik from looking for you two." Rose was immediately on her feet and slammed the man's head onto the table again.

"You don't talk about my daughter, got it? If you ever talk about my daughter again, I will pull your fingernails, one at a time. In the meantime, you're going to tell me what you told Macbeth."

"I told my children many things. But I could inform you on some things Macbeth in particular showed interest in."

"Such as?"

"The little spies I had in Raven Tail, the ones I had in the ranks of the Rune Knights, the ones that I had watching you and sweet little Alexis." Rose slammed the man's head into the table again.

"What else?" she asked.

"He tended to also ask about things from Zentopia, ancient legends and books and things like that." Rose leaned back in her chair slightly.

"Was there anything in particular he talked about? Mostly anything to do with Celestial Wizards?"

"He was very interested in the work of Will Neville. Remember when I used to read his books to you and the other children?" Rose rolled her eyes before slamming Brain into the table again.

"Yes I remember. And that was for lying to me for years. If Erik dies because of all this, I'll come back here and make you rue the day your mother and paternal grandmother spread 'em."

"I look forward to seeing you again, my dear," the man said with a smile, as if she hadn't just threatened him. Rose rolled her eyes again before slamming Brain's head into the table again and leaving the room with Bickslow behind her.

"So… what now?" he asked as he shut the door.

"Honestly, I haven't a clue. We've looked into Zentopia, we've looked into the Seis, we even interrogated Brain and all we've got is fakes in the cells where four members of the Oracion Seis are supposed to be."

"Which tells me they're likely the ones responsible," Bickslow said.

"Yea, I know that. But I just wish I knew why," Rose muttered, resting her forehead against the Seith Wizard's shoulder. Bickslow wrapped an arm around the young mother's shoulders and began leading her down the hall.

"Let's sleep on it. Maybe things 'll make more sense in the morning."

"I hope they do."

 

Laxus felt panic rise in his chest as he saw himself be dragged across a dust-covered floor. His shoulder cracked as he was thrown onto a metal table and he screamed at the pain. He was strapped down to the table and he struggled against the bonds. It took him a second to realize he couldn't see out of his right eye. 

"Such a disappointment. Just like that damn mother of yours." Laxus snapped his head around to snarl at his father's figure. The man just laughed as he picked up a serrated knife. He slowly walked towards a wall that lit up as he neared. Laxus felt bile rise up in his throat as he saw his team, his grandfather, his sister and Lexi tied up to the wall. 

He started struggling harder as Ivan began tossing the knife in his hand and catching it again. 

"No! No don't!" Laxus yelled. Ivan caught the knife again and vanished before Laxus eyes, suddenly reappearing between Evergreen and Bickslow. "No!" In one swift move, the dark-haired man slit both their throats. Freed, Rose and Makarov began fighting their restraints as Laxus tried breaking his. He had to get to them! 

Lexi started crying as she struggled, yelling for her mother, as Ivan stepped in front of Freed and slit his throat as well. 

"No!" Laxus roared, struggling even harder to get free. The straps holding him down seemed to tighten and made it harder to breathe. "Come on!" 

"Laxus!" The blonde male snapped back around in time to see his father slit Rose's throat. The woman had tears running down her face that twisted his gut and chest. "My baby! Please! My baby!" she yelled as Ivan slit Makarov's throat and neared his own granddaughter. 

"Leave her alone!" Laxus roared as he watched his father's blade slit Lexi's wrists and throat. The child kept crying, screaming for her mother. 

"Laxus." His breathing stopped and he could've sworn his own heartbeat stopped for an instant as he turned his head to look upwards. Hovering over him was a young woman hanging in chains. She was practically skeletal and her pale skin made her bright, green eyes look almost otherworldly. Blonde hair cut sharply at the jaw was ratted and tangled. 

"Mom." The woman smiled at him before more chains began wrapping around her. "No! Wait! Mom!" he yelled, finally managing to get an arm free. He reached to grab onto his mother's hand, only to have it turn to dust in his grip. But she kept smiling at him, even as the rest of her vanished into nothing. Laxus began yanking on his restraints again. He had to get to his family! 

Suddenly, the restraints were gone and he tumbled onto the floor. Everything was quiet and Laxus' eyes widened as his heart hammered against his ribs. 

"Laxus?" He looked up and instead of a metal table, Sonya and Lucy were seated in front of him, chained to the floor, their hands and feet behind their backs and thick collars around their necks. 

"Hang on! I'll get you out, I promise!" he swore as he began pulling on the chains on Sonya's collar. The girl looked at him with sad but reassuring eyes. 

"You never listen, do you?" she asked before beginning to cough. The force of them made her bend over and spit up something dark onto the floor. 

"What do you mean, listen?! Sonya!" Lucy started coughing as well, spitting up blood onto her lips and chin. Laxus hurried over to her and cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Lucy, listen, you're going to be alright. I promise!" 

"You can't promise that. Could you protect them?" Laxus snapped around and he swore he felt bile rising in his throat. The Guild Hall he'd grown up in lay before him in ruins, the one that had replaced it was standing tall but was now engulfed in flames. Members were strewn unmoving across the yard and the street beneath his feet had at least an inch of red liquid flowing past him. 

"No! No this can't be happening!" he yelled, turning back towards his Mates, only to find Ivan standing between them, a knife to each throat. "Please don't," he begged, dropping to his knees. "Please. You can do whatever you want just please don't hurt them." 

"Such a disappointment." Laxus' eyes widened as he turned around again, this time seeing Zeupitoya standing behind him, her arms crossed over her chest and her golden eyes glaring down at him. 

"Please. Help me!" he cried. The woman sighed before she pulled a hand back. Laxus watched as it turned into golden talons. Faster than he could register, she swung at him, her claws digging into his face and yanking his lacrima out. His head turned with the force and he watched as Ivan slit the throats of his Mates. "No!"

 

Laxus sat upright, panting for air, covered in sweat and his heart hammering against his chest at the dream he'd just seen.

A groan beside him almost made him jump, only to realize it was Lucy, her face scrunched in what he could only guess was a bad dream. He ran a hand over her head as he took a breath.

"She's alive. She's okay," he thought with a slight smile. His hand went to the spot between them and panic nearly set in again when he realized Sonya was gone. "Sonya?" he whispered, looking around the tent. He heard a sniffle from outside the tent flap and hurried outside. A sigh of relief rushed out of him at the sight of the brunette he was looking for huddled just an arm's distance from the flap. "There you are, you scared me." Sonya turned around, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she choked out. Laxus saw her bare toes were red, as were her fingers and the tip of her nose.

"Come on inside, you've gotta be freezing," he said, extending a hand to her. The girl all but leapt away from him and pulled her knees up to her chin. "Hey." Slowly, he made his way out of the tent and came a little closer to her. "What's wrong?"

"It's my fault… that you… and Lucy are… having these dreams." Laxus immediately pulled Sonya into his hold.

"No it's not. Sonya, you can't blame yourself for having a panic attack. Nor can you blame yourself for what you remembered," Laxus said, trying to calm her down.

"If I wasn't part of this Pack you two wouldn't be-"

"This Pack wouldn't be anything if you weren't a part of it!" the Alpha growled, cutting off the brunette's argument. "Sonya. It's because of you Lucy and I went on a job together at all. Because of you, Erika has a family to take care of her. Because of you, I feel like I should at least try to talk to Lucy, to make her forgive me for what I've done to her in the past. If it weren't for you, we'd both still be miserable. Lucy would still be a part of Team Natsu and all their shenanigans and... and I'd never feel like I deserved her. I still don't. But I'm trying to do what I can to have her forgive me for the past so she can be happy with me in the future. So don't ever say stuff like that."

"But it's because of your mental link with me that you two are having nightmares tonight," she argued. Laxus shrugged.

"People have nightmares all the time. We'll get over it."

"But I-"

"But nothing. I'm not hearing anything else on it. You're not to blame for what's happening. You had a panic attack and remembered a bad memory. Tonight Lucy and I happen to have nightmares. It's a coincidence. It's not your fault. You understand?" Sonya didn't look at him and he sighed. "Let's get back inside. It's cold out here."

"Fine," she sighed. Laxus scooped the girl into his arms and brought her inside the tent. She remained quiet as he set her in the bed and covered her in furs again.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you yesterday," he said as he stretched out beside her. "Last night, I actually remembered something from when this happened." He pointed to his scar and Sonya set herself up on her elbow to pay attention.

"What happened?"

"Well, my dad said it was making me weaker so he was going to take the lacrima from me. Then Zeupitoya showed up and got me out of there. Then she checked me over and did… I don't know what but it hurt."

"Wait a second, the lacrima was already inside you when this started?" Sonya asked. Laxus nodded. "And you were getting weaker?" He nodded again. Her eyes widened.

"According to Zeupitoya, it was poisoning me-"

"So she re-aligned it to work with your Magic," the brunette finished.

"I guess."

"Laxus…that's kinda… beyond incredible," she said with a chuckle.

"Why? What did she do?"

"Well, you know our Inner Dragons right? Well, what happened was she removed herself from the lacrima and put your Inner Dragon in it instead. It was still formed by her DNA, but she essentially cleared it for yours. Think of it like gutting and renovating the inside of a house."

"Wow."

"Yea wow. But what I'm confused about is… where did she go after that?" Laxus shrugged.

"The next thing I remember is waking up at Porlyusica's with Freed."

"Well, as a Dragon her obligation would have been to train you. But the fact you've never seen her since then sends off all kinds of red flags. And she's not just any Dragon, she's a Blood, and a Shaman. So her obligation to you is even greater than normal. As a Shaman, she has an obligation to you simply as a Dragon Slayer. As a Blood, and you being her Lacrima-Son, your powers are greater than a normal Lightning Dragon Slayer's because they essentially come from her. So I can't imagine where she'd be if not with you when you woke up."

"Who knows," Laxus said with a shrug.

"But she's out there, somewhere. Meaning we've got a chance!" Sonya beamed at him and Laxus couldn't help a smile. "If we find her, we've got a chance to save Dragon Slayer culture." Laxus opened his mouth to reply when Lucy sat up with a yell and let out a loud sigh of relief upon seeing them.

"You okay?" Laxus asked.

"Mostly," the blonde female replied. "Just a dream." Sonya gently wrapped an arm around Lucy's shoulders and hugged her before pressing a kiss to her temple. Laxus couldn't help a small smile as Sonya comforted and calmed Lucy. He knew Sonya still needed some help, especially with this new memory that had caused a panic attack. Once they got home, he'd have to talk to Makarov about it.

The blonde Dragon Slayer wrapped his arm around his Mates and nuzzled his scarred cheek against them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Justie: I told you! I told you! So…a lot went into this chapter. For one, that shooting Sonya did is actually possible. Look up Lars Anderson. 
> 
> The contents of Erza's luggage are canonically, ingredients and food.   
> Han is Darkness in Lakota culture. I am not Lakota so I don't understand everything about it. 
> 
> If you all liked this chapter, please help sustain me through the school year with kudos, bookmarks and comments! Bye!

**Author's Note:**

> Justie: And that's all folks. For now at least. Please leave a review.


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